Smoldering
by aglock729
Summary: Paramedic Sylvie Brett's love life is non-existent while everyone else seems to be hot and heavy. So what happens when Captain Matt Casey's feelings for her start to smolder into something more? Casey and Brett romance fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

Paramedic Sylvie Brett stood in one of the co-ed showers at Firehouse 51, letting the hot water run down her back. Today was one of those days she just wanted to forget. They had responded to a call from the Chicago Police Department for ambulances to a crime scene where eight underage children had been brutally attacked. The one boy, around six, who was alive when they got there, died in the back of their ambulance. She knew she couldn't save everyone, but cases involving tender age children were especially heart wrenching.

Sylvie shut off the water, pulling her towel off of the bench outside her shower stall. It was long past the end of her shift, the next crew had already come and gone through the locker room. She knew by now all of her friends were probably gathered at Molly's, but right now she was having a hard time focusing her energy on getting dressed, she didn't feel much like socializing. Reaching for her clothes on the bench, she pulled on her pants and turned for her top...

You have got to be kidding me, she thought. The bench was void of any more clothing except for her socks. Looking under the bench and around the stall, even peaking her head outside to see if she dropped her shirt on the way to shower, turned up no extra clothing. She had already thrown her blood stained paramedic uniform into the laundry cart, and the thought of trying to dig through everyone's dirty clothes for her shirt made her shudder. As if this day could get any worse, she groaned inwardly.

She put on the bra she'd been wearing all day, and tucked her damp towel under her armpits. At least she was mostly covered if she ran into someone. Her partner, Emily Foster, was comfortable enough to walk around the locker room in her underwear, but not Brett. She was small-town, much more conservative then her Chicago-raised coworkers.

Sylvie took a deep breath, walking cautiously back to her locker. She didn't hear anyone else... She exhaled and turned the corner, and smacked right into another body. She jumped, startled, and dropped her towel, reeling backwards. She couldn't keep the shock off of her face as her coworker turned, an equal look of astonishment on his face. She noticed his eyes immediately go to her almost naked breasts before he quickly looked down at the floor.

"I'm sorry," Captain Matt Casey mumbled, his eyes not leaving the floor.

Of all the people. This was literally the worst day, Sylvie thought.

"Um, it's my fault," she squeaked, her face flushing as she reached for the towel. She quickly wrapped it around her shoulders and stepped around him, hurrying to her locker. She opened it, and on the shelf was her stupid shirt. She pulled it over her head, closing the locker door and turning back to Matt, she gave him a small smile. "I thought everyone from shift would be gone."

He didn't answer right away, he was staring into his locker, his mind replaying the image of her standing before him in just a black bra, a hint of lace at the top of the cups. He vaguely heard a voice, and realized Sylvie had spoken to him.

"What?"

"I said, I thought everyone would be gone by now?" Sylvie repeated.

"Oh. Yeah, i had to do some paperwork. You headed to Molly's?" He asked awkwardly, still looking at the floor. He knew if he looked at her his eyes were going to go to her chest. Geez, Casey, he thought to himself, stop acting like a teenage boy.

"I guess. Don't really feel like it, but being alone is probably worse..." She trailed off, her voice catching in her throat.

Casey reached out, gently touching Sylvie's arm to comfort her, but realized that was a mistake. When she turned her doe eyes up to him, glistening with tears, all Casey wanted to do was pull her close and help her forget about her problems. But instead, it took all of his strength as he reluctantly dropped his hand and stepped away from her. "You look like you could use a drink. I'm buying." He said, nodding.

She gave him a small smile and followed him to the parking lot. Getting in her car, she quickly turned the key to warm it up in the cold Chicago winter. But the only sound that met her ears was a click. "This is not my day," she muttered angrily. Looking across the parking lot, she saw Casey in his truck, presumably waiting for her. Ever the gentleman, she thought. She hopped out, walking to his passenger window. "I think I've got a dead battery. My lucky day, right?" She scoffed. "Do you have cables? Or I can get some out of the rig."

Matt mulled over the situation. Finally, he suggested, "Why don't you just ride with me and we can worry about it tomorrow?" A part of him felt a little guilty, he may have been a little selfish jumping to this conclusion, but he pushed the thought out of his mind. No, he was doing this for Sylvie. It was cold. It made much more sense for her to worry about her car in daylight hours. He definitely wasn't doing this to spend extra time with her.

Sylvie shrugged. "I guess." She opened the passenger door and climbed in. The truck cab was warm and inviting and smelled like sawdust and coffee. Casey scrambled to move some random power tools and screws from the front seat to make room for her. Chuckling, he gave her a sweet smile. "I don't normally haul passengers, sorry."

"No, it's okay! I like that your passionate about something else like construction. I mean, not that you're not passionate about being Captain, you are, I mean, I'm sure your passionate about a lot of things, not that that makes any one less important..." Shut up, Sylvie! She yelled at herself.

Casey gave her a raised eyebrow. "Um, yeah I guess I'm... Passionate. Or just trying to make some extra cash."

Things were pretty quiet the rest of the way to Molly's. When they walked in, Brett was quickly pulled away by Foster and Stella Kidd. "Brett, there you are. I was just telling Foster how Kelly asked me to move in with him!" Stella said, bursting with excitement.

Brett smiled gently at her. "Thats great!" She was genuinely happy things were going so well for Kidd and Severide.

Stella sighed. "I know, don't get me wrong this OFI job is great for him, but we just don't get to see each other as much. So hopefully this helps rectify that."

Foster turned to Sylvie. "What took you so long to get here?"

"Oh, my car has a dead battery."

"Soooo you walked?"

"No, Casey gave me a ride."

Foster's eyes got wide, and Kidd almost spit out her drink. "I'm sorry, why was this not the first thing out of your mouth when you arrived?" Stella demanded.

"I didn't think it was a big deal."

"Are you freaking kidding me?!" Emily began. "You two have been making puppy dog eyes at each other for months, and you're telling me you were at the firehouse for an hour ALONE and then came here together?!"

"First of all, there are no puppy dog eyes. We're good friends. Second, we were not alone, the whole next shift was there." This would be a good time to omit the part where I ran into him topless, Sylvie thought.

"So?! What did you talk about? Give us the details?" Stella probed. Sylvie laughed at her friends. She was glad they cared, but after her recent broken engagement, she wasn't up for much boy talk. "Nothing. I want to talk about how you're going to redecorate Severide's apartment," she said, steering the conversation to something she knew Stella couldn't resist.

Casey watched from across the room as Sylvie laughed at something Stella was very wildly describing. He shook his head. Sylvie Brett had set up camp in his brain today, and he couldn't stop thinking about her.

"So is that okay with you?"

Casey turned. Kelly was asking him something. That was the second time today he hadn't been listening because his mind was on Brett.

"What?"

"I said, can Stella move in with us?"

Casey shrugged. "Sure, I mean, it's your apartment."

Kelly slapped his back, smiling. "Good, cause I already asked her, and she said yes!"

Casey nodded, heading to the bar for another beer. Sylvie was now sitting alone, so he slid into the seat next to her. "Where are your girls?" He asked.

"In the kitchen measuring the sink. Stella wants to put an industrial one in Kelly's apartment." Glancing at his face she said, "I mean your apartment."

He shook his head. "Nah, it's Kelly's apartment. I need to find my own place. I have a feeling those two will need some privacy," he said, pointing to where Stella was now sitting in Kelly's lap, their lips pressed together.

Sylvie gave him a knowing look. "Yeah, thats probably a good idea." Looking around the bar she said, "Have you seen Joe? I should get a ride home with him."

"Uh, he left. I can take you." Casey offered.

"Oh. Um. Okay," she said quietly. Casey was a little set back, it seemed like she wasn't interested. Or maybe she was thinking about earlier in the locker room and she felt embarrassed. He sort of wished she had forgotten all of her clothes in her locker so nothing had been under that towel...

"Casey?"

"What?"

"I said, I'm ready whenever you are."

Casey mentally kicked himself. That was strike three. Following her out to the parking lot, he opened the passenger door of his truck for her. Their drive to the apartment Sylvie shared with Joe Cruz was again silent. Casey could hear her quietly humming to the radio, absentmindedly twirling a lock of her hair. He had to tear his eyes away from her profile to focus on the road. He pulled up in front of her house, putting the truck in park and turning to face her.

"Well, guess I'll see you tomorrow," she said, hopping out of the truck.

He nodded. "Yeah, see ya." Hopefully as much of you as I saw today, he thought. Maybe more. Sylvie waved as she walked into the house, and Casey drove away, his mind going back to entertaining thoughts of that black lacey bra.

Sylvie walked into the living room. It was dark and quiet. "Joe?" She called. She heard rustling in his room, then the door cracked open. "Hey, Brett. What's up? Chloe's here." He said curtly.

"Oh, sorry, just wanted to ask for a ride tomorrow? My car is at the station with a dead battery."

He nodded. "Sure." And quickly closed the door, returning to his fiance.

Sylvie sighed. Everyone had love but her. She pulled some ice cream out of the freezer and flopped on the couch to watch some Fixer Upper, the sight of power tools bringing her thoughts back to the passenger seat of Casey's truck.

The next day, Joe and Sylvie pulled up to the firehouse for their shift. Casey was out front, the hood of Sylvie's car was opened and he was hooking up a battery charger. She walked over, beaming. "Hey, thanks!"

He smiled, "no problem. If it charges all day, you should be good to go by the end of shift."

Heading into the break room, Joe was starting breakfast. Stella was standing by the coffee pot, rubbing her eyes. Seeing Sylvie she mumbled, "Need coffee."

Casey leaned over to whisper in Sylvie's ear, "she was up all night measuring the apartment." Sylvie laughed, turning to respond, and found her face inches from his. Clearing her throat, she quickly looked down, walking over to sit down at the table.

Later, Sylvie and Emily were doing inventory in their ambulance. "So, how was the ride home with Casey last night?" Foster teased.

Sylvie rolled her eyes. "Of course you noticed that." She sighed, "It was just a ride."

Foster groaned. "You are no fun. Why can't you help me stir up some firehouse drama?" She giggled.

Sylvie couldn't help it, she laughed. "Sorry, my love life is mediocre... Hey, there's always Stella and Kelly."

Foster shook her head. "Old news. Maybe I'll just have to start my own drama," she said as the call alarm sounded overhead.

"Ambulance 61, person in distress."

Sylvie shut the back doors of the ambulance, jumping in the front. "Let's go!"

Their day was full of calls, all low trauma. Sylvie was thankful for an easy day after yesterday had been so tough. Walking out to her car at the end of shift, she remembered about the dead battery, and saw Casey waiting next to her car.

"Hey, just thought I'd stay and make sure all was good with this beast." He said, patting the side of the car. She climbed in, turning the key, and the engine fired up. She squealed with delight, jumping out and throwing her arms around Casey. "Thank you, thank you!" She exclaimed, giving him a quick hug.

It all happened so fast, suddenly she was in his arms, and for a brief moment his hands grazed her waist. Smiling she climbed back into the car asking, "So, see you at Molly's?"

"Um, actually I'm going to go look at some apartments," he responded regretfully. Maybe he could cancel.

"Oh! That sounds way more fun! Have a good time!" She said, genuinely interested in his apartment hunting.

Casey thought for a brief moment. "Well, do you want to come with me?" He asked, hoping she'd say yes.

"Seriously?! That actually sounds super fun. I've been on a bit of a Fixer Upper bender lately," she admitted.

"Yeah, i could use a woman's opinion," he said, walking her to his truck where she once again climbed into the passenger seat, which was noticeably cleaner than it had been the night before.


	2. Chapter 2

Matt put his truck in park in front of a small blue house. Glancing at his watch, he told Sylvie, "the realtor should be here any minute." Sure enough, a red Honda pulled up, and a tall woman in her fifties got out, waving at them in the truck. Matt and Sylvie met her on the porch, shaking hands. "I'm Matt, we spoke on the phone. This is Sylvie," he said, motioning to her beside him.

"Welcome, welcome! I'm Jane." The realtor said, unlocking the door and entering the house. "So, here we have a beautiful foyer, very homey..." She continued through each room in the house, describing the features. The upstairs had three bedrooms, one of them was very small. Matt ran down to his truck to get a tape measure while Sylvie stood in the tiny room with the realtor.

"You know, this would make a wonderful nursery." Jane said, beaming at Sylvie.

Sylvie was confused. "Matt doesn't have a baby."

The woman glanced down at Sylvie's abdomen saying, "Well, not yet. You and your husband make a beautiful couple, you would have a wonderful family!"

Sylvie's eyes got wide. Ohhh. Apparently she had a baby too. "Oh, he's not my husband," she stuttered.

Jane patted her arm, nodding her head. "Oh that's okay honey, no judgement here. I know you young people just skip the marriage thing now."

"Um -" Sylvie was interrupted by Matt returning, holding up the tape measure. "Got it." He started taking some measurements of the bedrooms. Returning to the realtor he pointed out, "you know this house isn't up to fire code?"

"What? That can't be right." Jane assured them.

Sylvie nodded. "I havent seen a single smoke alarm."

Matt nodded, and pulled her to the closet, opening the door. Inside was a host of exposed wires. Sylvie shook her head.

He turned to the realtor. "You have to get these fixed before a sale or rental." He turned to go, placing his hand on the small of Sylvie's back and guiding her out the door. His gentle touch made her feel suddenly breathless. As they walked down the front sidewalk, the realtor called after them, "so do you have any interest?"

"No." Casey said firmly, opening the door for Sylvie and the drove off.

Sylvie starting laughing. "That woman was... "

"A know-it-all?" He chuckled.

"Did you hear her talking about the load bearing walls like you were an idiot? We literally drove up in a truck that says 'M. Casey Construction'." Sylvie laughed.

"Yeah, and she kept telling me about the three bedrooms like that was a selling point. I'm a single guy, I only need one room."

Sylvie laughed and said very seriously, "Well, we'll need the extra rooms when our babies come."

Matt almost ran a red light. What? "OUR babies?!" He asked. What the hell was Sylvie talking about? She wanted to have a baby? With him?!

"Apparently, she thought I was your wife. She implied the little room could be a nursery and we should get busy," she explained to him. He had an odd look on his face, and Sylvie immediately regretted bringing it up.

Casey was wondering if he had done something to make it seem like they were a couple. Not until the end when he'd touched her. The rest of the visit he'd had to restrain himself from reaching out and making some type of contact with her body. She was like a magnet he was being pulled too. And apparently that was evident to Jane without Casey even doing anything. And a baby... Brett would be a good mom, for sure. He glanced over at her, and noticed she had a concerned look on her face.

"Yeah, um, that's pretty crazy." He said quietly.

"You mean you didn't notice at all?"

"No," Matt admitted.

"How about at this next one we play a little game?" She suggested. "You just introduce me as 'Sylvie' again and pay attention to what they say to us."

Matt shrugged, "Okay."

They pulled up in front of a nice apartment building, taking the elevator to the 5th floor. "This one is only ten minutes from 51," Sylvie noted as the ascended. They walked to the door of apartment 5B and knocked, a mid-thirties blonde woman opened it with a big smile. "Hello! I'm Olivia, you must be Matt!" She said enthusiastically. She glanced at Sylvie who gave her a small smile. "And..." Olivia looked at Matt for an introduction.

"This is Sylvie."

Olivia nodded, stepping back to let them in, "Welcome!"

They entered a spacious living room with an open kitchen at one end. Sylvie walked to the windows where there was a cute dining room nook and looked out. "Matt, check out this view!" She exclaimed.

He joined her, noting the apartment looked out over a large park on the next block. Olivia gestured down a hallway. "The master bedroom is this way." She led them to a good sized bedroom with an attached bathroom that had a second door out to the hallway. "Now this is the only shower in the apartment, but there's another bathroom off of the living room," she told them. "There's also a second bedroom off of the living room you could use for storage or a work out room... Or for future children." She turned, smiling at them. "This apartment is in a very good school district, and you saw that darling park just a short walk away!"

Sylvie gave Matt an 'I told you so' look. He chuckled to himself. I guess taking your female friend apartment hunting could give people the impression she was your girlfriend. "We'll keep that in mind." He told Olivia.

After doing some more inspection of the apartment, which, he noted, was completely up to code, they said goodbye to Olivia and Matt promised to call her the next day with an answer.

When they got in the truck, Sylvie exclaimed, "You have to pick that one! It's perfect!"

"Now hold on." He said calmly, "It's great, but it's a little out of my budget."

"Well, you could get a roommate, there is a second bedroom and bathroom," she offered.

"Yeah, I guess. But we'd have to share a shower."

Sylvie scoffed. "Oh, that's doable, trust me. I shared one bathroom with two men when it was me, Joe and..." Sylvie trailed off, choking up thinking about Otis.

Casey reached over and put his hand on her shoulder, knowingly.

Sylvie took a deep breath, thankful for his comforting touch. "Well, and now Chloe has practically moved in, so it's still three people."

Casey nodded, "I know how that goes with Severide and Kidd," he said, rolling his eyes.

Sylvie covered her face. "Ew. Please tell me that apartment has more than one shower."

Matt shook his head, "You know they say they're trying to conserve water but I don think it's very efficient when they're in there for hours."

Sylvie shuddered. "Please spare me the details. Well, you need to get out of there sooner rather than later, and that place would be so great."

He sighed. "I guess. But I should get a roommate, I don't need a room for storage or working out. And I'd prefer somebody I know."

"You could ask around the firehouse," she pointed out, "I don't know anyone on our shift, I've already asked. But maybe on another shift?"

He nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

She sighed. "I'm so jealous. I'd steal that listing from you, but if you can't afford it on a Captain's salary, no way is this paramedic going to be able to afford it."

"You could be my roommate." He blurted out. She looked at him, surprised and he explained, "Well, I mean you did say Joe and Chloe need some space and you like the apartment so much..." He trailed off, unsure what to say.

She shrugged. "I mean, that's true. Would you... Would you be okay with that?" She questioned.

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, sure. I mean, you've lived with other guys, right?" He held up his hands defensively, "strictly platonic, I'm a stand up guy," he said with a small smile.

"Huh." She was thinking. "That's actually not too bad of an idea. I'll have to run it by Joe, but I think it could work." She smiled at him. "I did really love that apartment. Good idea, roomie!" She said with a little laugh, punching his shoulder playfully.

Good idea, huh? Matt thought, as he watched her excitedly babbling about how she would arrange the furniture. He loved to see her so happy. Her smile was so contagious. Her lips looked so soft...

He snapped out of it. He had a feeling this was a very very bad idea.


	3. Chapter 3

"You're going to do what?!"

"I said, I'm going to be Casey's roommate." Sylvie repeated to Stella.

"Girl, that is a bad idea."

"What? Why?"

Stella gave her a look. "The two of you are like a match someone's holding over a bucket of gasoline. A fire is bound to happen."

"What?" Sylvie was confused. "I don't understand what you're saying."

Stella sighed. "What I'm trying to say is, you and Casey... You have all this pent up sexual tension. If you move in with him you're gonna end up in his bed sooner rather than later."

Sylvie's eyes got big. "What?! No, were just friends!"

Stella shook her head. "You are so blind!" She turned, calling to Foster, "Hey, Em, come here!"

Foster came over from where she'd been helping Joe make breakfast. "Whats up?"

"Brett's moving in with Casey."

Emily smiled wide, "Atta girl, I knew you had a thing for him."

Sylvie groaned. "No, it's a platonic thing. Seriously, guys?! C'mon, we're just friends... I need to move out cause Joe and Chloe need space... It seemed like a good idea."

"A good idea if you're trying to get laid." Foster laughed.

"I don't understand. Joe thought it was a great idea."

"That's because he's itching to have his place just be for him and Chloe, and he's also blind to the possibility of you and Casey," Stella explained. "But we," she motioned to herself and Foster, "see right through your plan, Sylvie Brett." Foster nodded, and Sylvie sighed.

"I'm going to show you guys you're wrong."

Meanwhile, Casey was having a similar conversation with Severide.

"I didn't know you and Brett were even a thing." Kelly was saying.

"What? We're not. I need a roommate, she needs a place to live. It seemed like the perfect solution."

"Sounds dangerous, my man. I know you've got a thing for her... Just be careful, that's all I'm saying."

Casey shook his head. "No, were just good friends. That's why I think it'll work great." He wasn't sure he was convincing anyone, even himself.

"Alright man, if you're cool, I'll be cool."

Two weeks later, Casey and Brett were moving their things with the help of their friends.

"Seriously, Brett. Casey has like, three boxes, what is all this junk of yours?!" Mouch asked.

"Hey now, to be fair, I'm a woman, we need more things." She explained.

"And I had that apartment fire last year, so my stuff is less than usual," Casey chimed in.

The other members of the firehouse thought Casey and Brett moving in together made perfect sense. None of them could fathom Matt and Sylvie as anything more than friends, especially with their shared admiration and respect for Gabby. Only Kidd, Foster and Severide were skeptical.

"So let me get this straight. You guys have to share a shower?" Stella asked Sylvie as she helped unpack her bedroom.

"Yes, but we almost always shower at the firehouse after shift, so it's not that often here. We'll just have to coordinate," Sylvie stated.

"Coordinate a little rendezvous?" Foster laughed as she hung clothes in the closet.

Sylvie rolled her eyes. "Guys, c'mon. You need to stop, cause this is happening."

Stella sighed. "Finnneee. But if ANYTHING interesting happens, you have to promise to tell us," she said, holding out her pinky. "Promise?"

Sylvie hooked her pinky with Stella's, shaking her head. "Promise."

Emily piped in, "And we promise not to tease you, as long as you keep your end of the bargain."

Sylvie scoffed. "Trust me, there won't be anything interesting to tell."

Emily and Stella gave her a look, and Sylvie busied herself slidding things under the bed so they didn't see her blush.

Meanwhile, Casey and Joe were assembling Sylvie's furniture in the living room.

"Man, does anything in here belong to you?" Joe questioned.

Matt shook his head. "After the fire at my place I moved in with Severide and I didn't need anything except my bedroom suite. It's great you let Sylvie take all this from your apartment."

Cruz laughed. "Seriously, she's doing me a favor. Chloe is so excited to redecorate with her stuff, and I'm not gonna stop her. Happy wife, happy life, ya know?"

Casey was quiet. He had tried to have a happy life with Gabby, and somehow it wasn't enough. Luckily, Herman was calling for help with a shelf in the bathroom, so Casey took the opportunity to leave the conversation.

Finally, after a day of moving and organizing, the group sat around finishing off pizza Casey had ordered to thank their friends for all their help. As people started saying their goodbyes, Sylvie suddenly felt very nervous to be alone with Casey. Everyone filtered out until Severide and Kidd were the only ones left.

Kelly slapped Matt on the back. "Well, man. I'm gonna miss having you around, come over any time Sylvie gets on your nerves," he said jokingly.

Stella elbowed him. "Don't hate on my girl. Sylvie, you come stay with us if HE bothers YOU."

Sylvie shook her head, laughing. "Somehow I feel like it's gonna be one of you who needs a couch to sleep on," she said, and Casey chuckled. Stella glared at them, and Kelly pushed her out the door before she could snap back at them, waving over his shoulder.

When the door closed behind them, the apartment was suddenly so silent. Brett busied herself cleaning up plates and cups. She noticed Casey moving to clean up boxes in the kitchen. Sylvie smiled to herself. She had noticed he was very organized with his things, and she liked that he picked up after himself. Many of her previous boyfriends/fiances had expected her to take on the domestic rolls. Why was she comparing Matt to her previous romantic interests? She fluffed the pillows on the couch, peaking at him as he washed the dishes. He was wearing a cozy flannel shirt and had rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. Sylvie couldn't help but notice his muscular forearms. As he scrubbed the dishes, Sylvie watched his hands work, noting how strong they looked, and the faint crescent shaped scar on the back of his left hand. She wondered what his hand might feel like in hers...

"Sylvie?"

"Hm? What?" Oh, crap, had he noticed her staring?!

"Would you mind drying?" Casey asked, holding out a dish towel.

"Oh. Sure." They worked silently, cleaning and drying the rest of the dishes in the sink. When he was done, Casey turned and leaned against the counter.

"So."

"So... What?" She questioned.

A small smile tugged up the corner of Casey's mouth. "So, what now, roomie?"

Sylvie glanced at the clock. 7:43 was way to early to go to bed. "Um, did you get all your stuff unpacked?"

Casey shook his head. "No, I was too busy helping Cruz move your furniture."

She glanced into the living room, cringing. "I'm so sorry, Matt, I feel like my stuff is taking over this place. There's nothing personal to you."

He shrugged. "That's okay. I don't need much."

She brightened up. "Well, I can help you unpack! And organize your room! If you want we could go shopping tomorrow for supplies! You could pick out some stuff to make this place feel like your home too."

He chuckled, "I admire your enthusiasm, but I have all I need. And I don't have to unpack, I can just live out of my three boxes till everything eventually finds its place."

Sylvie gasped. "Oh, no. Then it doesn't feel like home! You have to unpack." She motioned toward his room. "I'll help and it'll be done in a jiffy."

He sighed and followed her. Upon entering his room, she saw the boxes and a suitcase in one corner, the bed was neatly made with a dark blue comforter, a small notebook was on the side table.

"Oh. You weren't kidding, you literally have three boxes." Brett walked over, noticing the labels. Two said "clothes" the other said "bathroom."

"To be fair, I did unpack some stuff in the kitchen already," he said defensively. Motioning to the bed, he included, "and I made my bed."

"Well, I guess that's a start." Sylvie sat down on the bed, picking up the notebook. "What's this? A dream journal?"

"You're half right. It's just a journal. Sometimes I like to write down my thoughts. Helps a lot, especially after tough calls when it's hard to sleep."

Sylvie sighed. She knew that feeling. Sometimes the job could be extremely taxing emotionally. But she wouldn't have pegged Casey for the sensitive type. Suddenly, being I his room, sitting on his bed, talking about emotions, things felt intimate. Not necessarily in a sexual way, but she felt a connection to Casey she'd never noticed before. She hadn't realized how much they had in common. Clearing her throat she responded, "I might have to try that."

Casey picked up a box, walking towards the bathroom door. "How much space do you need for your shower stuff?" He asked.

"Um... How much is available?"

He peaked into the box in his hands. "It looks like I'm going to need a maximum of one drawer so..."

She laughed, pointing at a cabinet in the corner, she claimed it as hers. The rest of her things she'd keep in her own bathroom. After taking a whole ten minutes to unpack Casey's boxes, they returned to the living room, sitting on opposite couches.

"So, do we have any roommate rules?" Sylvie questioned.

"Rules?"

"Yeah, like 'dont eat the food on the top shelf of the fridge' or 'my yellow mug is not for coffee' or 'no food in the bedrooms' or whatever?" Sylvie suggested.

"Um. I don't think any of that is too big of a deal." He responded.

"What about like, relationship stuff, like, if you have a girl over I can just go to Foster's or just stay in my room. Do we need a secret code for that?"

"Um, I don't know. I don't think so?"

"Hang a sock on the door?"

Casey laughed. "Trust me, i don't plan to be bringing tons of girls home. If it gets to that we can just communicate if I need the place to myself."

"Sounds good." Sylvie was hating the mental image of him bringing in another girl to their apartment.

After watching some TV, Casey announced he was headed to bed to rest before shift tomorrow. Brett watched him walk away than reluctantly went to her own room. Getting ready for bed, her mind was scattered. Had she really agreed to this? She was having mixed feelings about this being a good idea. She would never admit it to her friends, but she knew she had a crush on Matt Casey, and she had a feeling being this close to him, but not being with him, was going to be difficult.

Casey lay awake in his bed, thinking about Sylvie down the hall. He was looking forward to getting closer to her. Just as friends, of course. But as he drifted to sleep, he couldn't help but think of her smiling face.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Thanks so much for all the positive feedback! Reading your reviews makes me more excited to write, so keep them coming if you want faster updates. ;) If you follow the whole One Chicago Universe, I'm also working on a Chicago PD story called "Just Friends" if you want to check it out!_

Sylvie was awake before her alarm, staring up at the ceiling. She wasn't sure what the appropriate new roommate protocol was. She always made the morning coffee for her and Joe, but was Casey even a coffee drinker? Maybe he liked tea. Should she expect to ride with him to work or drive herself? She had taken turns driving with Joe, unless one of them had other plans after work. She eventually got dressed, wandering out to the living room, even though it was still an hour till she had to leave. Surprisingly, Casey was sitting at the kitchen island, looking at blueprints. He glanced up as she entered saying, "hey, are you an early riser, too?"

"No," she admitted, "I just couldn't sleep."

He nodded. "Yeah, the first couple nights in a new place can be a little rough."

Yeah sure, she thought. Thats why I couldn't sleep.

Motioning to the coffee maker he added, "I made some coffee, not sure how you like it, but I prefer it strong."

She gladly poured a mug and took a sip, smiling. "Mmmm, jet fuel, perfect," she teased.

He smiled back at her. "Good to know we share a coffee preference."

She glanced over his shoulder at the papers spread before him. "Whatchya workin on?" She asked curiously.

"I've got a client who wants a loft built in their garage, I'm just checking out the blueprints to see how to make it structurally sound."

"Huh." Sylvie didn't know anything about construction, she had no idea how to respond. Matt sensed her hesitation and slid the blueprints over so she could see them. He spent the next several moments explaining the job to her, and he appreciated her genuine interest. That, or she was really good at acting. Glancing at the clock he saw it was time to go to work.

"Do you just want to ride with me?" He asked.

Her face broke into a wide grin. "Sure! I was planning to go to Molly's after work, I can get a ride if you're not up to it."

"Molly's sounds good to me." He responded.

As they climbed in his truck, Sylvie was greatful Matt was so easygoing. She'd spent all morning fretting about how to approach things, and he'd simply solved them. She peaked over at him as he drove, trying to discreetly check out his profile. He was definitely handsome. Who was she kidding? Women probably flocked to him. She sighed inwardly. Somehow she needed to push these thoughts of Casey out of her head.

They walked into the firehouse, Casey was immediately pulled away by Chief Boden, and Brett headed to the break room by herself. Foster and Kidd immediately accosted her.

"So, how was the first night?!"

"Guys. We had an agreement."

Stella pouted. "Boo, you're boring."

Sylvie sighed. "We washed dishes, finished unpacking and watched some TV. It was very sexy," she said sarcastically.

Foster laughed. "Playing hard to get, I like it."

Then the alarm went off, and they heard on the loudspeaker, "Ambulance 61, gunshot victim at 55th and Carson Street."

The paramedics jumped up and headed to work, Joe tossed Sylvie a muffin from the kitchen as she raced out.

The gunshot victim was a man who had been cleaning his loaded pistol and shot himself in the knee. Foster gave him a lecture about gun safety the whole way to the hospital.

After that, there was a call for an elderly woman who fell in the shower, and then a boy who cut the tip off of his finger trying to make his own sandwich. All in all, an easy day, but Sylvie hadn't seen Casey at all during shift, and she found herself excited to ride with him to Molly's. She quickly showered and walked to his office, knocking on the door.

"Hey, you still want to go to Molly's?"

He looked up from his desk, frowning. "Yeah... But I have to get this paperwork to Chief ASAP. Maybe you could get a ride with someone and I'll meet you there?"

Her face fell, and she quickly collected herself, forcing a smile. "Yeah, no problem, see ya." She walked away and went to find a ride with someone else.

Casey noticed what looked like disappointment on her face, and he was a little confused. They'd been roommates for a whole day, he didn't realize they were that committed. He was disappointed because he wanted to spend the extra time with her, but there's no way she felt the same. She probably was just upset about having to find a ride last minute. Casey shook his head, focusing on his paperwork so he could get to Molly's ASAP.

When he finally arrived, he saw Sylvie was already at a full table with Cruz, Foster and another woman. He slid into a seat at the bar, saying hellos to Herman and Kidd. He drank a beer alone, wishing Sylvie would join him. Then he felt a hand brush his arm as someone slipped into the chair beside him. He turned smiling at the blonde sitting next to him, until he realized it wasn't Sylvie.

"You know, it's kind of depressing to drink alone." The woman said.

"Um, I'm actually waiting for someone," he responded.

"Well, I hope for her sake she makes it," she said, putting her hand lightly on his arm. "I'm Gemma."

He forced a smile, dropping his arm so they weren't touching. He glanced at Sylvie, noticing she was watching the exchange.

Brett saw the blonde approach Casey and felt a pang in her chest. Seriously? He was here a whole five minutes. How did this girl know he wasn't taken? She watched as Casey pulled away from the woman, glancing over at her. She was no detective, but his body language looked like he wasn't interested, and Sylvie knew he was too polite to reject the girl flat out, so she made a bold move.

Sylvie walked up to Casey, placing her hand on his thigh and smiling politely at the other woman, she gave a kind "Hello" and turned her attention to Matt. "You ready to go home?" The blonde's eyebrows went up at the word 'home' and she mumbled a quick "goodbye."

Casey chuckled, turning to Sylvie, he suddenly realized how close she was, and the fact that her hand was still on his thigh. He suddenly forgot how to speak with his body inches from hers.

"Nice move Brett!" Herman laughed. "I watched the whole thing, that girl had her claws in Casey and you shut it down!"

"Yeah, thanks." Casey mumbled.

Sylvie stepped away, watching him. "I really am ready to go, whenever you are." He nodded and they headed to his truck. They silently rode back to their apartment, said goodnight to each other and went to their seperate bedrooms, both lying awake lost in thought.

As the days went on, the new roommates fell into routines. Casey made their morning coffee and then one of them would drive to work. Sylvie felt a little guilty because it almost always was Casey who drove, but she knew he enjoyed it. One day, Casey had to go to a job after shift, so they drove seperately, and Sylvie missed their usual morning banter. To make matters worse, Foster had convinced her to go to a new bar after work, and a tipsy woman had accidently spilled her drink down Brett's shirt. She was in the worst mood as she pulled into the parking lot of her building, she noticed Casey's truck was missing, so he wasn't home yet. That turned her even more sour, she'd missed him all day. She unlocked the door and threw her bag on the couch, peeling off her sticky shirt and walking back to the bathroom to shower.

As she opened the door she heard a gasp, and looked up to see Casey barely grasping a towel around his naked body.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N:_ I had so much fun writing this Chapter, hope you guys enjoy it!_

"Shoot, I am so so sorry," Sylvie stammered. She just stood there, frozen in place, her eyes locked on Casey's bare chest. Damn, between being a firefighter and working construction, he had a muscular body. She continued to fumble through her excuse, "I... I thought you weren't here, your truck isn't in your spot and I got alcohol down my shirt, and..." Sylvie held up her shirt, only then remembering she was standing there in just her bra.

Casey had been equally shell-shocked when she opened the door. He had just stepped out of the shower after a long day and was pulling a towel around his waist when she walked in. If she would been a few minutes earlier... The thought both made him blush and exhilarated him.

Sylvie saw him turning red at the sight of her half naked... AGAIN. Seriously, he probably thought she was such a floozy. She watched him awkwardly try to adjust his towel to a more modest level, and she cursed herself again. 'Walk out, Brett!' she thought, but she still felt like she had to explain herself.

"Look, Casey I'm really sorry I should've knocked -"

He put up his hand. "It's my fault. My truck blew a fuel line so I had Severide just bring me home cause I was tired and didn't feel like dealing with it tonight. I should've communicated with you." He looked at her, a small smile pulling up the side of his lips, "besides, now I guess this makes us even."

Now it was Sylvie's turn to blush. She giggled, a little too high pitched and pointed at herself, "Pretty sure I'm still winning the 'who can wear less game.' This is the second time I lost my shirt."

Casey shook his head. "Almost full nudity counts as double points, were even. If you would've been a little sooner this would be much more awkward." He insisted.

She swallowed hard. He had no idea that a little part of her wished she had been sooner. She pushed the thought away as he said, "I'm going to my room, shower is yours." And he exited through the other door.

Sylvie stripped off her clothes and got in the shower, letting the hot water pour over her head. She closed her eyes, replaying the picture in her head of an almost-naked Matt Casey. It would not disappoint her if he were to walk around the apartment like that... She sighed, letting her mind wander with dangerous thoughts of Matt Casey in various states of undress.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the bathroom door, Matt was pulling on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, getting ready for bed. He was exhausted and it was late, he knew he should just go to sleep, but he wanted to see more of Sylvie. So, he walked down the hallway in his bare feet and settled into the couch, flipping on the TV. It was a while until Sylvie emerged, wearing her pajamas. She stopped when she saw Casey, surprised he was still awake, and suddenly felt very self conscious of her clothing. She was wearing her favorite oversized Chicago Bears t-shirt and polka dot pajama shorts. The shirt was so long it covered the shorts, making it look like she wasn't wearing pants.

They had spent time in the living room together before, but it never felt this cozy. And that was before the shower incident. The second shower incident. She groaned inwardly. Why was she always making herself look like the biggest fool in front of him?

He was watching America's Funniest Home Videos, his bare feet propped on the coffee table. She liked seeing a more relaxed side of him. He turned, hearing her walk in, and patted the seat next to him. "C'mon, sit with me." Casey noted her outfit, and the polka dot shorts peaking out at the hem of her shirt. The thought of her in his oversized t-shirt and no shorts flashed through his mind, and he quickly focused his gaze on her burgandy painted toenail instead.

She hesitated. "I should really go to bed, we have shift tomorrow..."

Casey shook his head. "It's not that late. C'mon, 10 minutes?"

She was not hard to convince. She sat next to him on the couch, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders and pulling her knees up to her chin. When Casey asked what she wanted to watch, she shrugged. "Whatever."

The settled on a crime drama. Some Dateline episode about a girl who had been abducted from her work. Sylvie sighed. "Why does this show always have the female demographic as the victim in some redneck town? It makes me not want to leave Chicago ."

Casey chuckled. "Brett, I'm pretty sure you see way worse stuff in Chicago every day."

"Yeah, but with these stories, the killer is always a friend or family member. Someone they trust. It's like they're just bored. And one little thing sets them off." Sylvie shuddered. "Trust me, growing up in Indiana, kids did some strange stuff for entertainment. I feel safer in Chicago then I ever did there."

Casey sensed there was more to her story, but he didn't push it. She'd already opened up to him more than normal. But he caught her distaste for Dateline and turned to Jeopardy, discovering Sylvie was remarkably good at trivia.

"Who is Garry Trudeau."

Sylvie's answer was correct, and Casey looked at her incredulously. "How do you know so many of these?"

She shrugged. "Well, while the other kids in Fowlerton were doing crazy stuff, I did a lot of crosswords and puzzles."

Casey smiled, thinking of little Sylvie. She was probably a sweet child. "What was your senior superlative? Most likely to feed the homeless?" He joked.

She frowned, "actually it was most individualistic. Basically it meant I had no friends," her voice sounded sad.

Casey put an arm around the back of the couch around her shoulders, "hey, you have friends now," he said softly.

Sylvie's heart raced as his arm brushed her shoulders. He wasn't quite holding her but if she were to lean into him, she would be in his strong embrace. She cleared her throat, trying to get her mind on other things. "You were probably most handsome," she blurted out, feeling fire rise to her cheeks she added, "or most athletic or most popular or something." She stared down at her feet, as an awkward silence filled the air.

"Actually... I was most friendly," he said, the hint of a laugh in his voice.

Sylvie chuckled, and Casey's face broke out into a grin. "Of course." She responded. They chatted about their very different high school experiences and childhoods into the early morning.

Casey was having an odd dream. Someone kept tickling his chin with a feather, but his arm was trapped under something and he couldn't wave the feather away. He cracked his eye open, realizing the feather was a lock of blonde hair. It slowly registered with him, he and Sylvie had fallen asleep on the couch. He glanced down at her blonde head, which had slumped into his shoulder. His arm had slid off the back of the couch and was wrapped around her torso. His hand was resting on her hip, and he dared not move it. The tips of his fingers were just at the hem of her shorts, and he could feel them touching bare skin. Every ounce of him wanted to run his hand over her body, but he stayed still as a statue. Glancing at his watch, he saw it was 6am, the time he usually got up. Shift wasn't for another 2 hours, but he was content to just study her sleeping frame. She looked so peaceful. There wasn't that usual worry line on her face that she had on calls. He felt like every part of her body that touched his was extra sensitive and he could feel heat where their bodies met.

He watched her for a while, until she started to stir. Then he closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. He felt her shift her body weight, and as she sat up, her hand that was resting on his knee ran up his thigh, and he tried not to tense. His hand slid down her hip so it was closer to her butt. He started to feel guilty. What an ass he was. He shouldn't be takin advantage of this situation. If he was so starved for a woman's attention he should go on a date. But it was too late now. If he 'woke up' now, it would be very awkward. So, he continued to pretend to sleep, disappointed as he felt her body heat disappear from the couch. He heard her soft footsteps hurry to her room, and the door clicked closed. He continued to sit there for a while, racking his brain on what was going on. It had to be the fact that he hadn't been out with a girl in a long time. There was no way he was developing feelings for Sylvie. He regretfully got up off the couch and went to start the coffee.

Sylvie was so cozy in her bed, but what was she leaning on? She felt like she was wrapped in a warm hug. As she sat up, her hand ran over the fabric of her sweatpants. Wait. She was wearing shorts. Opening her eyes, she saw her hand was high up on Casey's thigh, and he was asleep next to her with his arm wrapped around her. Oh crap. They must've fallen asleep talking last night. She quickly snatched her hand away from his body and raced to her room. Phew. At least she hadn't woken him up. It could be her little secret. She climbed into her bed and lay there, staring at her phone screen, thinking about the night before. Did this justify as something interesting to tell Stella and Emily? Maybe she should just give them a little bit of information. Something to hold them over so they wouldn't bug her. Plus, it was kind of funny. She decided to be honest with them. But not too honest.

She opened the group chat they had and texted, 'You guys up? Something interesting happened.'

She scrolled through Instagram for a few minutes till Stella responded, 'TELL ME EVERYTHING.'

'I maybe walked in on Casey getting out of the shower. SO EMBARASSING.'

'Pretty sure Casey was the one in-bare-assed ? ﾟﾘﾂ?'

'Its FREAKIN 7am couldnt this wait til shift, ladies' Foster finally responded.

'Boo, give us the deets then, Brett'

She responded with a thumb up and Foster replied, 'I want to hear about it in person to see your reaction.'

That made Sylvie nervous. She shouldn't have told them. She was definitely going to avoid the couch part.

She got dressed and walked out to the kitchen, where Casey was already eating some breakfast. He smiled, saying "good morning." If he had realized they fell asleep together, he certainly hid it well. He was still in his sweatpants and tee, his hair a little messed up. He looked more boyish and wild like this, and Sylvie found it incredibly attractive. She watched as he rubbed his neck, then said, "Man, Brett, why did you let me fall asleep on the couch? My neck is killing me."

She inhaled sharply, coughing on her breakfast. Casey gave her a questioning look and she cleared her throat, "Sorry I didn't want to disturb you."

"Well next time, wake me up when you go to bed so I can sleep in my room, please."

"Mhmm." She mumbled, reminding herself to never let this happen again. He went to his room and changed, coming out looking a little more put together, but just as handsome. They headed into work, and he went off to his office. Brett went to the locker room to change and as she was exiting was tackled by Stella and pulled into a closet, where Emily was waiting.

"Okay, spill. We're dying to know."

Sylvie sighed. "I didn't know he was home, and went to get a shower and boom. There's Casey in a towel."

"JUST a towel?!"

"Yup."

"Damn, girl. Was it hot?" Foster laughed.

"What? He just took a shower so I guess the steam made the room hot..."

Stella sighed. "Oh, you poor, innocent thing. She meant his BODY. Was it hot?"

Sylvie blushed. "Oh, I mean it was nice, I guess. He's built well." She cleared her throat, "but we're still very much just friends, I apologized and left and that's the end of it."

"So you guys haven't talked about it since?"

"No. What's there to talk about?"

Suddenly the closet door opened. Chief Boden was standing there, looking at them with a confused expression.

"Hey, Cheif!" Stella exclaimed. "We're just getting some paper towels." She grabbed a roll off the shelf and hustled out of the closet, the other woman following behind her. They barely made it to the break room when they heard -

"Engine 51, Truck 81, Ambulance 61, structural fire on East King Street."

They rushed to the truck bay, Sylvie saw Casey was changed into his Captain's uniform, giving some instructions to Gallo. A much different look than she'd seen a few hours ago. She decided he was handsome in every state of the day. She liked the idea of him being official and bossy at work, but wild and sensitive at home. Foster slammed the rear Ambulance door, bringing her back to reality. They all hopped in their rigs and sped off. Arriving at the fire, they saw the building was already engulfed in flames. A woman ran up to them. "Please, my father is in a wheelchair, i think he's still inside!"

The team pulled out their gear, and hurried towards the house, Casey barking orders. Sylvie checked on the woman, having her sit down on the curb. "My father lives here alone and I came to check on him and saw smoke!" She started crying, and Emily wrapped an arm around her while Sylvie patted her leg, reassuring her they would do everything in their power to get her dad out.

Suddenly, they heard a crash inside the house, and the radio crackled, "Mayday, Mayday, a beam collapsed on Casey! I need help!" It was Mouch's voice.

Sylvie lept up, spinning towards the house, her eyes frantic. She saw Herman and Gallo race inside.

She waited to hear something, anything, but there was radio silence. No. He had to be okay, she told herself.

He has to be okay... Right?


	6. Chapter 6

Sylvie waited anxiously, clutching her radio, hoping to hear good news about Casey.

Suddenly, she heard Hermann's voice, "We got him, coming out!"

Sylvie watched as they stumbled out the front door, Casey's right arm was around Gallo who was helping him walk, and his left arm hung limply at his side. The arm that hours before had been around her body. Behind them were Mouch and Hermann carrying the wheelchair bound man. He was coughing, but responsive.

"I'll take the dad, you take Casey." Foster said, rushing forward. Gallo helped Casey to the bumper of the ambulance and returned to the fire.

Casey's face was dirty, he was squinting with pain. "Beam came down on my shoulder." He informed her.

"Let me take a look," she insisted. She helped him pull off his gear, down to his Captain's shirt.

"Look's like you dislocated your arm... mind if I..." She motioned to his arm.

"Sure."

"Um, if you could take your shirt off, um, it'll be easier to assess the damage," she stammered. Why did he always make her so tongue tied?

"I'm going to need some help."

"Right." She slid her hand under the hem of his shirt, gently pulling it up. Her fingertips lightly grazed his abs as she carefully helped him manuever out of his shirt, incredibly conscious of every touch. His brow was furrowed like he was concentrating very hard on the pain he was in. She slid the shirt down his injured arm and took a look at his shoulder, trying to not let her eyes stray to the rest of his naked torso. There were some surface level abrasions, and the area was starting to turn black and blue. She gently felt along his collar bone, nothing felt broken. "Collar bone feels good," she told him. Putting her stethoscope to his back, he jumped as the cold metal touched him, and she whispered, "Sorry." She listened to his breathing, everything sounded normal.

When Casey had come out of the burning house, he had been elated to have Brett taking care of him. It almost helped him forget his aching shoulder. Especially when she started taking off his gear. Her soft hands running up his abdomen was a much more sensual experience than he'd have thought, and he had to grit his teeth and concentrate on distracting his mind from her body inches away. She declared no broken bones and good breath sounds, but his shoulder was clearly dislocated.

"Do you want me to pop it back in here, or do you want to go to Med?" She asked.

He nodded. "Just do it."

She placed one hand om his shoulder and the other on his arm, and swifty pushed hard until the joint was back in place. Casey yelped, digging the fingernails of his right hand into his leg. She frowned, apologetically, pulling a sling out of the rig.

"You should still get this checked out at Med when you have time today," she said, handing him a plain gray t-shirt. He rotated his left shoulder, wincing again.

"Can you help me with that?" He said, motioning to the shirt. He knew he was pushing his luck, but he couldn't help it. He hungered for her touch again.

She frowned. "Is your shoulder not okay?"

Casey felt guilty as he said, "Just pain, I'm not sure how well I can raise my arm." It was a total lie, but he was desperate for a few more moments with her.

He saw concern flood her face, as she helped pull his arm through shirt. "You definitely need to get checked out at Med," she insisted, the worried line incredibly evident in her brow. She helped Casey pull his shirt down, and put his arm in a sling. The rest of the crew had the fire under control, and Foster was ready to transport the wheelchair bound man.

Brett glanced at Casey, "You should ride with us," she said.

"I'm fine, really."

Sylvie crossed her arms. "Nope, your coming along."

"Take shotgun, I'll ride in the back with the patient," Foster told Casey.

Ambulance 61 headed to Chicago Med, where they got their patient checked in, and then Brett took Casey to the nurses' station.

"Hey, Maggie, can someone look at Casey's arm?"

"Sure," Maggie glanced around. "Dr. Manning, do you have a minute?"

"Yes!" Natalie smiled warmly at Casey and Brett. "What's up guys?"

"A beam came down on Casey's shoulder at a fire, it was dislocated and I popped it back in, but he's still in a lot of pain."

Natalie nodded. "Let's get you in treatment three and I'll check it out."

Sylvie smiled at Casey, "we're gonna head back to 51, keep me posted."

Casey nodded, disappointed to see her go, but he knew she was needed elsewhere. He watched her walk away, feeling guilty for overreacting. Damn, he needed to get Brett out of his head.

Dr. Manning helped him remove his sling and shirt, and examined the area. "It just looks like it's bruised, can you rotate it?"

Casey rolled his shoulder. "Yeah."

"What's your pain level?"

"Maybe a 1? It's feeling a lot better, just a twinge now," he said sheepishly.

"I'm going to do an x-ray, just in case."

A little while later, Natalie stood in Casey's room. "Looks like your clear, the x-ray didn't show anything wrong. Do you want a prescription for pain meds?"

"Really, I'm fine. It probably just hurt after the adrenaline wore off. Plus, I think I still have some gabapentin left from an injury last month I could use if you approve of that, doc. I'm fine, seriously."

She nodded, her face still looked worry. "Well, I'll want to check the prescription sometime. I'll get your discharge paperwork and you can go," she said with a warm smile.

"Um... Could I borrow a phone? Mine is back at 51, I don't take it on calls. I'm going to have to call someone for a ride."

Natalie glanced at her watch. "Well, my shift is over in 15 minutes. I could take you," she said, flashing another charming smile.

Casey looked at Dr. Manning. She was kind, pretty, smart, easy to talk to. Maybe this was a perfect way to get Brett out of his head. He leaned in closer, sharing a warm smile of his own and said, "I would love a ride. And how about we stop at Molly's and I buy you a drink as a thank you."

Natalie's smile widened. "It's a date," she responded, reaching out and touching his good arm as she turned and left.

A nurse helped Casey dress. He was still in his uniform pants. He'd just have to wear them to Molly's. Soon, Dr. Manning came to get him. She was dressed in jeans and a black v-neck long sleeved tee, her jacket slung over her arm. Casey did a quick glance as he followed her to her car. She was definitely an attractive woman. This might be the perfect way to channel his feelings for his roommate onto someone else.

Sylvie walked into Molly's that evening, scanning the crowd for Severide. Casey had never called to be picked up, he must've called Kelly instead. She was a little disappointed, but she understood. Walking farther into the bar, she saw Dr. Manning sitting at a booth in the back, and went to ask her how Casey was. As she got closer, she saw the man sitting opposite Natalie, facing away from Sylvie, was Casey. Sylvie could easily recognize his profile. She froze when she saw Natalie laugh, and reach across the table to place her hand on Casey's forearm. Natalie glanced up, seeing Sylvie she smiled and exclaimed, "Sylvie! Sit with us!"

Casey turned, an odd smile on his face. It looked forced. She was probably breaking roommate rules about interupting a date.

"Um, I'm good, i just wanted to check up on Casey, and here he is so I guess everything's good?"

Matt nodded, looking down towards the floor. He clearly wanted her to stop bothering him on his date. So she made her excuses and moved to the bar. Stella was rushing by with a pile of dishes, but Sylvie stopped her.

"Look, Casey's on a date."

Stella stopped, glancing over at Matt and Natalie. "Mmmm not so sure, he looks weird."

"What? He's probably just nervous."

Stella scoffed. "He is not nervous, he wants out."

"What?!"

"Yeah he wants you, not Natalie. Any fool could see that."

"Yeah, right," Sylvie responded sarcastically, but she stole a quick glance in Casey's direction again.

He was saying something to Natalie, and she was smiling beautifully. Sylvie's mood was getting darker by the minute. She told Stella she was going home, and left Molly's.

Late that night she was laying in bed, still awake when she heard the click of the front door. Casey must finally be home. She heard him say something, and a female voice responded. Sylvie gasped to herself. He had brought Natalie back here? They were suppose to communicate these things! Sylvie was boiling mad, and she stormed out to give Casey and Natalie a piece of her mind.


	7. Chapter 7

Sylvie stormed out of her room into the living room.

"What the hell?!"

Casey was by the door, he turned as Sylvie approached, a confused look on his face.

"What?"

"I thought we agreed we would talk about this before it happened?!" Sylvie spat angrily.

"Talk about what?" Casey had never seen her so fired up.

"Bringing someone home! We're suppose to clear it with each other, remember?"

Casey cocked his head. "Who did I bring home?" The pieces of the puzzle were coming together for him. Sylvie had barely talked to him when he was at Molly's with Natalie. Like she was nervous. Or offended. And now... She must've heard Natalie at the door. Was she jealous?!

Sylvie glanced around the apartment. "Where's Natalie?"

Casey walked into the kitchen, getting some water from the fridge. "Probably on her way home."

Sylvie's face flushed. "But I heard..."

Casey picked a pill bottle off the counter. "She wanted to check an old prescription for me, see if it was appropriate for my shoulder," he said, holding it out. "She just gave me a ride and checked my prescription."

"Oh. I... I'm sorry. Wow. I'm sorry, I'm really tired, I heard he voice and I thought... Sorry, can we just forget about this?"

Casey smiled. "Sure."

Sylvie mumbled, "Night," and hurried to her room to lick her wounds.

Casey watched her go. If he wasn't mistaken, him being with someone else bothered her. Which meant she cared about him. Maybe as more than a friend. Casey went to his room, climbing in bed he fell asleep smiling and thinking about Sylvie.

The next morning, Sylvie rolled out of bed. It was their day off. She was going to go to spin class and do some grocery shopping. She stretched, slipping on a large sweatshirt over her t-shirt and pajama shorts. She headed out to the living room and took a sharp intake of breath when she saw the sight across the room in the kitchen. Casey was standing at the stove, making breakfast, his hair slightly unkept, wearing sweatpants. But that was it. No shirt. His shoulder was clearly bruised and cut up. He turned when he heard Sylvie, giving her a sleepy smile.

This has to be a dream, Sylvie thought. It was too perfect.

"Morning, hope you don't mind, I'm making you breakfast. And I was hoping you could take a look at my shoulder again?"

Sylvie swallowed hard, "Um, yeah sure." She moved in close to him looking at the wounds. "Are you feeling any pain?"

"A little achy."

She nodded, "that's to be expected."

Moving away from him, she hopped up on the counter next to the coffee pot, pouring a cup. "Shouldn't you be wearing that sling?"

He frowned. "I don't need it. It just gets in the way."

"But you could do more damage to your arm," she scolded.

Casey looked over at her, ready with his come back, but the sight of her sitting there, her bare, smooth legs hanging off the counter, he was tongue tied. He tried to avert his attention back to the skillet in front of him, but it was too late, the picture of her sitting there was burned into his memory.

"Damnit!" Casey lept back from the skillet, holding his hand. In his Sylvie stupor he had managed to burn his hand on the stove. She hurried over, concerned. Taking his rough hand gently, she looked at the wound.

"Ouch. That's gonna hurt. Let me wrap it for you?"

He just nodded. His jaw was clenched as he tried to reign in his emotions. Her soft hands on his were making him delirious. She went to her room, coming back with a first aid kit and he was still just standing there like an idiot. She carefully took his hand, rubbing on a cool ointment. Then she gently wrapped it in gauze. The entire time, Casey felt dizzy trying to control his urge to touch her. Her soft hands were on his, and she was so close he could smell her fruity shampoo. He took a deep breath, wanting to savor the scent as long as possible.

She noticed his intense concentration and chalked it up to pain. She felt like there was an electrical charge in the room, being so close to him. Her body was buzzing as she wrapped his hand, sneaking a peek at his bare chest, her eyes running down to his waistband. 'Don't go there, Brett.' she thought.

She finished wrapping his hand, stepping away. For a second, they just stood there, both silent, an awkward tension in the air. Sylvie looked up and met his gaze. There was a look of... Pain? Anguish? Desire? She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something about the look he was giving her warmed her to her toes. She quickly looked back at her feet, mumbling, "so, what are you up to today?"

He cleared his throat, but his voice was hoarse as he responded, "um, not much. I was going to work but..." He motioned to his shoulder. "My doctor says I need to rest this arm." There was a twinkle in his eye. "I'll probably just stick around here and write up some bids. Do some drafting."

She nodded. "Okay. Well, I'm headed to spin class then the grocery store. Need anything?"

He shook his head. "Nope." She headed to her room, and Casey cleaned up the dishes. She returned a few minutes later, dressed in spandex, waving goodbye to Casey, his eyes followed her out the door. Damn. Why did those leggings have to stretch so perfectly over her butt? The door clicked behind her, and Casey groaned. He headed to his room to take a long, cold shower.

Sylvie returned later that afternoon. She had ended up meeting with Chloe for lunch, and it had taken longer than expected. She was wondering if she should've texted Casey that she would be late. What was the proper protocol for that? Entering the apartment, it was quiet. She looked around, even walking down the hallway to Casey's room. The door was slightly ajar, and she couldn't resist the temptation to peek in. There was no one in the room. It was surprisingly clean for a bachelor. At least, compared to Cruz and Otis. Casey had made his bed, all of his laundry was in a basket in the corner. Sylvie's eyes fell on the journal on his bedside table. She was tempted to look at it, but she knew that definitely crossed a line. So she returned to the kitchen, and started unpacking groceries. She was going to make chicken and risotto for dinner.

A wave of a heavenly scent hit Casey as he opened the apartment door. He'd been out most of the day, getting his truck fixed and surveying a couple new jobs, and he had skipped lunch. He just had to get out of that apartment. Everything in there put his mind on Sylvie, he couldn't focus. And walking in the door right now, seeing her standing at the stove, her hair tied back, the feelings just intensified. Holy shit, she was wearing a dress. A little, cozy looking blue dress. It had an open back that exposed her shoulder blades, dropping in a vee to right above where the band of her bra would be. As she turned, smiling at him, he saw the front of the dress was very modest, hitting across her collarbone. It was cinched at the waist, giving her an hourglass figure, and the bottom hem hung about mid thigh. Still, so much of those glorious legs were exposed. She was barefoot, a lock of hair had escaped from her ponytail, and he had this desperate urge to tuck it behind her ear.

"Hey!" She said cheerfully.

He just nodded.

She noticed that weird look on his face again. Like he was trying to suppress something. Pain in his shoulder? Probably. He must not want her to know how bad it was.

He was still quiet, so she continued. "I made us dinner, I thought we could sit down and have a meal together." She motioned to the table, which was set with dinnerware he didn't even know they had. He forced a smile, nodding his head. "I'm just gonna go shower." And he hurried to his bedroom.

Closing the door behind him, he pulled out his phone, hitting one of his recent calls.

"What's up, man?" Kelly answered

"I am in deep shit."

Kelly was concerned. It was unlike Casey to swear. "What's going on?"

"You were right about me and Sylvie. Every day we live together, she gets hotter."

Kelly laughed. "Oh, that kind of shit. I'm not sure what to tell you, buddy."

"She made me DINNER. She's in this sexy little dress, and I'm just supposed to act like I don't give a DAMN?!"

"Why don't you just tell her how you feel?"

"Because, it purely stems from the fact that we're living together. There's all these... feelings cause we're in such close proximity, right? I mean, we've always been good friends, I don't want to ruin that."

"Maybe she'd want to be friends with benefits."

"WHAT. How would I even ASK someone that?! And I don't think she's that kind of woman."

Kelly laughed again. "Yeah, and you're not that kind of guy. You two both scream commitment." Matt heard Kelly say something to someone in the room. "Hey, Stella just got home, want me to get her opinion?"

"No. I definitely don't want her knowing about any of this."

"Your call. But I think she'd have good insight."

"No. I'll figure something out." Casey responded. "See you tomorrow."

"Can't wait to hear about your evening," Kelly said with a laugh.

Casey hung up and showered. Returning to his room in his boxers, he stared at the drawers. What was he supposed to wear for this informal roommate dinner that sort of felt like a date?! Sweatpants were to caual. Slacks were to formal. He settled on jeans and a nice red t-shirt, pulling socks over his feet. He returned to the kitchen just as she was plating their meals.

"Have a seat," she said, shooting him a beaming smile. He sat at the small table, and she placed a plate of delicious food in front of him. It was all so domestic, he could almost pretend they did this all the time... As a couple.

Sylvie sat down, and they started to eat quietly. The risotto was amazing, he knew she enjoyed cooking. But cooking for him at the firehouse was different than at home. It was much more intimate.

"So, what were you up to today?" She asked kindly.

"Well, I fixed my truck, then I went to some places to look at for bids. Not very eventful, you?"

"Spin class, went to lunch with Chloe, grocery shopping. Not eventful, either."

"Well, you saw Chloe, that sounds fun."

Sylvie nodded. "Yup." Then she was quiet.

It seemed odd. "Is everything okay with you and Chloe?"

"Oh! Yes! Me and Chloe, we're good. She just had to talk to some one about her personal issues."

"Oh." Casey kept eating, he didn't want to pry.

"Matt?"

Casey looked up, concerned. He wasn't used to Sylvie calling him 'Matt.' "What's wrong?"

"Nothing... I need some advice. I don't want to be a gossip, but..." She hesitated.

"Sylvie, I swear whatever you have to say, I won't tell a soul."

She sighed. "Chloe thinks she might be pregnant. And she is worried about telling Joe because they had a five year plan for kids AFTER they get married, and she's afraid he'll freak out about it, and she's freaking out because what if something would happen to him and she has to raise a baby alone? And those are all valid fears, I just didn't know what exactly to tell her except that'll it'll be okay."

Oh. That was a lot for Casey to take in at once. "Well, i think that was good. You should tell her to tell Joe. For sure." Pausing for a moment he added, "people need to be honest with each other."

Sylvie nodded. "Right. I should've told her that... I'm going to go call her."

She headed into her room and called Chloe, assuring her that everything would be okay. Joe loved her, he would love their baby just as much. After all they had been through, he deserved honesty.

Returning to the living room, Sylvie saw Casey had cleared the table and cleaned all the dishes. He was getting a glass out of the cupboard, and turned when he heard her footsteps.

"Wine or Scotch?" He said, holding out two bottles.

She smiled. "Wine."

He poured her a glass, grabbed a beer from the fridge, and settled on the couch next to Sylvie. "So, did she agree?"

"Yeah. She's freaking out about it, but she agrees telling him is best."

"Good."

She sipped some wine, watching him. Then she said quietly, "do you ever want kids?"

He was a little surprised, but nodded. "Yeah. Some day."

The wine was starting to make Sylvie reckless. She got up, pouring another glass. As she was standing at the counter she asked, "what about with Gabby?"

Whoa. She was definitely crossing a line. She hated herself for it, but she wanted to know.

He sighed. Be honest, right? "Yeah, we talked about it. Then the whole Louie thing happened... It just wasn't the right timing for us."

"So you think there will be a right timing for you and Gabby?" Sylvie was not slowing down. She gulped down the wine, trying to calm her nerves.

"Um. No. No, I don't. I love Gabby, I do. And I respect her. But I just don't think there's a future there anymore..."

Sylvie nodded, sitting back down on the couch. Her dress slid up her thigh as she tucked he legs under her. Casey's eyes were captivated, and he could feel his body heating up. He quickly stood up, grabbing another beer to distract himself.

"What about you? Do you want kids?"

She thought for a moment."For sure. Hopefully some day I can find the right guy... My track record isn't the best though."

"He'd be damn lucky."

Silence filled the room, both of them looking anywhere but at the other. Sylvie felt like the air was heavy with... Tension. She reached for the TV remote just as he did, their hands colliding, both of them looking up simaltaneously, their eyes locking.

Next thing she knew, his lips were on hers, the force of the kiss pushing her back against the couch.

A/N:_ I love a good cliffhanger! Stay tuned!_


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: two chapters in one day because you guys have been awesome! Thanks for the support!_

Matt pushed Sylvie against the couch, his lips connecting with hers with an intensity she'd never quite experienced. There was an urgency there, and she could finally put a word to that look he'd been giving her the past couple of days. Hunger. Even now, she could tell as he kissed her, he was holding himself back. Did she want this? Her brain was a little fuzzy, but she responded by caressing his lips with her own.

And that flipped a switch. Suddenly she was under him, his rough hand sliding up her bare leg beneath the hem of her dress, stroking her thigh. All of his restraint was gone. She ran her hands down the fabric on his chest, slipping them under his t-shirt to the bare skin underneath, and he moaned, nibbling at her lip. She could feel his lower body pressing against her, and his need was evident. She gasped as his hand slid up further, running his thumb over her hip bone. He started toying with the waistband of her underwear, as if he was asking for permission. This was such a bad idea. She had to regain control, but a large portion of her brain was telling her to keep going.

Reluctantly, Sylvie decided to be the good girl, and pulled his hand away, pushing him off of her. He sat up, dazed. She put a hand to her swollen lips, shocked by what had just happened. She wanted him, but she was also afraid of the repercussions of this. His eyes widened with realization, and shame flooded him. "I am so sorry." He said, his voice hoarse.

She shook her head. "No, it's okay." She squeaked. Pointing to her empty glass she stammered, "too much wine."

He nodded, taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. His fists were clenched, his fingernails digging into his palms, trying to get control of his emotions. She stood up quickly, straightening her dress. "I'm just going to go to bed. Night." And she hurried off.

Casey put his head in his hands. Well that did not go well. Clearly she was not ready for his feelings. He sighed and headed to his own room, laying awake in his bed for awhile, wishing she was with him. Little did he know she was across the apartment doing the same thing.

The next morning, Sylvie was in her room trying to determine the appropriate next step. Should they just pretend this never happened? They should probably talk about it, right? Well, avoiding him wasn't an option, they had a 24 hour shift at the firehouse today.

She took a deep breath and walked out to the common area. Oddly, he wasn't there. On the counter the coffee was made, with a note.

'Sorry, had to go in early to meet Boden, see ya at 51'

That COWARD. She thought. What a joke. He was going to just avoid her and pretend like he didn't just jump her yesterday?! She was so confused. She finished getting ready and drove herself to the firehouse, her anger building.

Casey had just finished up his meeting with Boden and was headed back to his quarters when he saw Sylvie enter the firehouse.

"Hey, morning." He said, smiling at her.

She brushed right by him without a word. What was that about? Disappointed, he continued down the hall. He had wanted to talk to her this morning, tell her what he was feeling, apologize for forcing himself on her, but Boden had called needing to talk to him. He thought his note had been cute. Apparently not. With a sigh he sat at his desk, and soon after Severide entered, closing the door.

"So?" He asked expectantly.

Casey sighed. "Basically, I'm an asshole."

"C'mon, it can't be that bad."

"Well she made me this beautiful meal, lovely conversation, we start talking about kids and next thing I know I'm shoving my tongue down her throat."

"Wait, you kissed her?! And you're having kids?!"

"Yes, to kissing. Just theoretical kids. We were talking about what we want in the future. Not together."

"Damn. So the kiss was good? Bad? What did she say?"

"Well. This idiot got handsy pretty fast and spooked her. So we haven't talked about it."

"Handsy?! Why Matthew, I thought you were a gentleman," Severide laughed.

Casey glared at him. "It's not funny. Now things are gonna be weird. Which is exactly what I was afraid of."

"Relax man, you'll get her. No doubt." He slapped Casey on the back and left.

In the break room, Sylvie was talking to Mouch, trying to avoid anyone who might even mention Casey. Joe was alone at the table, Hermann was picking through the fridge and Gallo and Ritter were on kitchen duty. After a while, Stella came barging in, grabbing Brett's sleeve. "We need to talk, now!"

Stella pulled her into the supply closet down the hall. "YOU SAID you would tell us everything!"

"What? What are you talking about?!"

"You and Casey KISSED?!"

"How do you even know that?"

Stella rolled her eyes. "Please. With this body," she motioned to herself, "Kelly is putty in my hands."

"Casey told Kelly?" What an ass. He was bragging to his buddy about his conquest, but didn't have the audacity to discuss what it meant with her.

"Mhmm. He's freaking out that he's ruined his relationship with you."

Sylvie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. It was over before it started."

Stella sighed. "Are you serious? He's a man, Sylvie. He's proud. There's all these feelings running through him right now, and that freaks him out! The least you can do is let him explain himself."

"Stella, this could get so messy."

"Then let him apologize, and go back to being good friends."

Sylvie sighed. Stella was right. Maybe they could salvage a friendship.

"But what I want to know," Stella continued, "is how was the kiss?"

Sylvie blushed, remembering the events of the night before. "Well, it was certainly intense."

"Oh? Do tell?"

"Um, so he's definitely a good kisser. But he's a bit, um, wild?"

"Wild? What do you mean?"

"I mean, he went from zero to ten, real fast."

Stella raised her eyebrows in question, and the red of Sylvie's cheeks brightened. "I can't talk about this!" She protested.

"C'mon, girl. Spill the details."

Sylvie sighed. "There may have been hands up under my dress."

Stella let out a cackle. "Brett, you vixen."

Sylvie groaned. "It just happened so fast."

Stella turned, opening the door to leave she laughed adding, "Don't forget protection!" And she went off giggling down the hallway.

Sylvie stood there, unsure what to do. She liked Casey. A lot. Stella was right, it was definitely worth saving a friendship. But now... She was always going to wonder what could've happened.

The door opened, and a shocked Casey stood there. "Um, hey? Why are you in the closet?"

She shrugged. "Just looking for something."

He stepped in, closing the door behind him. "Ah. Stella's urgency for me to get her paper towels is making more sense."

Sylvie rolled her eyes. Of course. She looked at her feet, hoping he'd start the conversation.

"Look. I need to apologize. We had a bit to drink and got carried away... I'm sorry I um... Yeah. I'm sorry for what happened. I'm just in a weird place with the whole Gabby thing. It won't happen again."

Sylvie felt so disappointed. "I thought you were over Gabby?"

"I am."

"Then why are you in a weird place?"

Of course she couldn't just take his answer and be okay with it. He sighed. "I thought Gabby was what I wanted for life. And she wasn't. So I'm not sure what I want."

"Huh." Ouch. Guess it wasn't her. "Well, glad you could check me off the list and move on to the next girl," she snapped.

"Sylvie, that's not what I meant-"

"Ambulance 61, Engine 51, Truck 81, Squad 3, structural fire, East King and Cameron Street."

She shoved past him, rushing off down the hallway, brushing away tears. Ugh, why was she so emotional about this? Maybe because she had been hoping for a different outcome then 'let's be friends.'

The arrived at the fire, luckily no one had been inside, but a man had broken a window so a cat could get out and sliced his hand, so Ambulance 61 took him to Med while the rest of 51 got the blaze under control. But on their way back to the station, Brett and Foster got another call.

"Ambulance 61, Main and Weston Ave. Child in distress."

They rushed to the scene. It was a baby. A little girl. She had been napping for a long time, and her mother went to check on her and she wasn't breathing. It looked like SIDS. They still took the baby to the hospital to be pronounced with the grieving family.

Heading back to 51, it was getting later into the evening. The sun was just dropping below the horizon. Foster and Brett were quiet, both saddened. When they returned, they wordlessly restocked their rig and cleaned up.

"I'm going to go catch some sleep in the bunk room if I can," Foster told her, and headed off.

Sylvie walked down the empty, dark hall, not quite sure where she was going. After the firefighters busy day, most of them were trying to sleep in case they got another call this shift.

She rounded the corner, and saw Matt's light on in his office, the door open. Her feet carried her over the threshold, and she shut the door behind her.

He turned, surprised to see her there, but excited. His joy turned to concern when he saw her face, and suddenly she burst into tears.

He stood, closing the small distance between them. "What happened?"

She choked over her words, "It was a...a baby. We, we couldn't save her." She blubbered, feeling like an idiot.

Without a second thought, he wrapped his strong arms around her, and she melted into his embrace. "Shhh," he soothed, "I'm sorry, Sylvie." She had a feeling his words carried more meaning than just for the current situation. She just let him hold her as she sobbed, thinking about all the horrible things she had seen or been unable to prevent. It came crashing over her like a wave sometimes, and she wasn't used to having anyone else witness her breakdowns. She suddenly felt so tired. Like she could just rest in his arms. He awkwardly guided her to the edge of the bed, sitting next to her. She still clung tight to his torso. Oh well, she already looked like an idiot. Resting her head on his shoulder, she closed her eyes, willing her body to just shut off for the time being.

Casey had to practically hold Brett up. When she started sobbing, as soon as his arms were around her she leaned into him like she needed his support. Literally. He sat her on the bed because he didn't want to drop her. Then she snuggled into him and he was unsure what to do. What he wanted to do was lay down with her and get some rest of his own. He had no doubt he would sleep peacefully with her in his arms. But the proper thing to do would be let her sleep here and him go sleep in the bunk room. But that would raise questions. Maybe he could sleep in his chair? His neck hurt just thinking about it. He resolved that staying with her was the best solution. Really, it was most practical. He gently laid her back, she barely stirred. He laid beside her, barely touching, but it wasn't a very big cot. Instinctively, her body curled towards his warmth, and he froze as her hand ran across his chest. He should probably get up... Right? But this was probably his best chance at getting close to her ever again after he'd botched the whole kissing conversation. So he closed his eyes, breathing in her scent, and drifted off to sleep.

He woke to the alarm going off. "Ambulance 61, Engine 51, Truck 81, Squad 3. Residential Fire, Smith and North Duke Street."

Sylvie stirred, sitting up she mumbled, "what time is it?"

He glanced at his watch. "One am."

She groaned. Standing up and yawning down the hallway to the garage bays. Apparently she hadn't registered where she had been. Or she didn't care.

They arrived at the fire, and it took the rest of the morning to get it under control. Brett and Foster took a middle-aged couple to Med to get checked, but the residents had seemed okay. They had functioning smoke detectors and got out early. He had barely seen her during the call, and when they finally returned to the firehouse, he found himself just standing in his quarters staring at his rumpled bed.

"Casey, get me your report before you leave," Boden said as he passed the doorway.

"Yes, Cheif."

Casey sat down, focusing hard on the paperwork. He was almost finished when he heard a light knock on the door.

"Hey, we just got back."Sylvie said, leaning against the door frame. She seemed nervous.

"Alright, I've got some paperwork then I'm headed home... Guess I'll see you there."

She nodded, glancing around his office again. She was hesitating.

"What's up?" He questioned.

"Um, I'm missing my phone? I guess I thought maybe I left it in here," she said to the floor.

He got up, looking around the bed. Sure enough, it was tucked under a blanket. She took it, sheepishly. "Thanks."

As she turned to walk away he stopped her. "Sylvie?" She turned, meeting his gaze with her doe eyes. "If you ever need to talk again... My door is always open. Here or at home."

She nodded, giving him a small smile, and left.


	9. Chapter 9

Casey finally made it home around lunch time. He was exhausted. Tossing his stuff on a chair and kicking off his shoes, he collapsed on the couch and quickly fell asleep.

Sylvie woke up from her nap some time in the evening, hungry. She pulled a large flannel shirt on over her sports bra and pajama shorts, it probably had belonged to a cousin or brother, but she couldn't remember who. She rubbed her eyes, dragging herself out to the kitchen, she started making something to eat.

"Hey."

Sylvie shrieked, jumping into the air, banging her knee on the open drawer below her. "Ouch!" She yelled, holding her leg. Matt rushed over from his spot on the couch. "I'm sorry, how can I help?" He seemed to be saying that a lot, lately.

She was clutching her knee, and squinting her eyes shut hard, willing the tears to go away. Her silence made him nervous so he scooped her up.

"Matt Casey, put me down!"

"Well you're scaring me! Are you okay?"

She nodded. "It's just going to be a nasty bruise."

He was still holding her. Why wasn't she wearing pants? He was suddenly very aware of his arm around her smooth legs. He didn't know why, but he was delighted by how light she felt in his arms. Not that her size even mattered to him, and she was a small woman to begin with, but he liked the fact that he could just stand here with her in his arms. All of this flashed through his mind in a matter of seconds, but it was long enough that she cleared her throat, awkwardly.

"Can you put me down, please?"

"Yeah. Sorry." He put her down gently, heat rising to his face.

She sighed. "We can never just be friends, can we?"

He shrugged. "It's hardly been a day. We'll figure it out."

She looked up at him, he was still standing close to her, she could easily take a step and be touching him. She closed her eyes briefly, she could smell his now familiar scent. Her resolve was dwindling.

"Maybe we just need to get it out of our system," she said boldly.

His eyebrows went up in shock, his eyes wide. "What are you suggesting?"

She swallowed hard. "I'm suggesting we finish what we started the other night, then we can be done with this whole awkward tension thing." She could hardly believe the words coming out of her mouth, it was very unlike her. But her desire was winning over her brain.

Casey was speechless. Was she seriously suggesting this? He was very confused. She stepped closer, looking up into his eyes, taking his hand in hers. His brain started swimming. She stood up on her tiptoes and planted a light kiss on his lips.

Oh yes, he was definitely up for his. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in for a deeper kiss. To hell with it, he thought, sliding his hands under the flannel to her bare back.

And then someone knocked at the door.

He groaned, refusing to let go of her for a moment. She pushed back on his chest gently, giving him a small smile, she headed to the door. He ran his fingers through his hair, sighing. Maybe this was a sign it wasn't meant to happen.

Sylvie opened the door to Kelly and Stella.

Both of them smiled wickedly. "Hey. What are you guys doing?"

"Um, just hanging out." Sylvie said.

"Pants optional?"

Sylvie frowned, pulling up the flannel to show her shorts. "I'm wearing pants," she snapped.

"Mhmm, didn't look like it," Stella teased.

"What are you guys doing here?" Matt asked from inside the room.

"Stella is ambushing us," Kelly told them. "She wants to go to this new nightclub on the east side."

Stella nodded vigorously. "Yes, we need to have some fun! Its my one night off in like, forever from Molly's and I want to go somewhere else for once. Please come?"

Sylvie shrugged. "Sure." Glancing at Matt she added, "you in?" Please say yes, she thought.

"I guess."

Stella squealed. "YESSS. Foster is meeting us there with her fling of the week. Go get changed and let's go!"

Sylvie glanced at her watch. "Kidd, it's 5:30. Is this place even open?"

Stella swatted at Sylvie's arm. "We're going to dinner first, duh."

Sylvie rolled her eyes. "Oh, of course, silly me." But she was still really hungry. She decided to throw Stella another bone, "want to help me pick out my outfit?"

"Oh, YES." The headed to Sylvie's room, leaving the men standing by the door.

"Want to help me pick out my outfit?" Matt joked to Kelly, who chuckled. "Seriously, what am I supposed to wear to a nightclub?"

"Whatever, man. If you and Brett aren't going to be a thing, there will be plenty of girls throwing themselves at you."

Casey forced a laugh. Where they going to be a thing? His feelings were very muddled about their relationship. Did he want something physical? Definitely. But was that all SHE wanted? Because it felt like it. And he wasn't sure he could do that.

Heading to his room, he pulled on a pair of dark blue jeans and a black, long sleeved henley shirt that was a little fitted at his biceps. Slipping on some nice boots, he headed back out to the living room. "How's this?"

Severide was on the couch, and nodded. "You look beautiful, buddy." Casey rolled his eyes, grabbing two beers from the fridge he sat down next to Severide to wait, handing him a beer.

Meanwhile, Stella was furiously flipping through Sylvie's closet. "Don't you have anything acceptable in here?"

Sylvie frowned, "what about that red one? I like that one?"

Stella pulled it out, her nose wrinkling. "Brett, this is nice for a job interview. Not for a club. Seriously, you need to look super sexy."

"Ugh, why? Then guys are going to hit on me and I hate that." She hated strangers checking her out. It made her feel violated with all those eyes practically undressing her as she walked. This was exactly why she didn't go clubbing.

"Exactly." Stella said. "And then, either you'll go home with one of them, or maybe you'll make the one at home realize what he's got."

Sylvie sighed. "I think he's realized it. You guys kind of interrupted it when you knocked."

"I knew it, you sneak," Stella hissed, jumping up and down. "So you guys are together?"

Sylvie bit the inside of her lip. "Not exactly."

Sitting down on the bed next to her, Stella said, "I don't get it."

"I maybe suggested we just get it out of our systems, like a one time thing."

"Wait. What? Like friends with benefits? That is so not you."

"I just thought maybe one time? Maybe it'll be awful and we can just agree to be friends forever?"

"What if it's amazing?" Stella countered.

Sylvie was silent. Standing up, she reached deep into her closet. "How about this one?"

It was a silky green dress with a sweetheart neckline. "Let me see it on," Stella insisted. Sylvie slipped it on, turning to show her.

"Oh, yes. Eat your heart out, Matthew," Stella laughed.

Casey was taking a swig of his beer when the women emerged from Brett's room, and he almost choked when he saw her. She was wearing a dark green dress that brought out the green in her eyes. Her short hair was curled, half up in a bun, the rest falling to just below her shoulders. Her face was done up with simple make-up and a hint of red lipstick. But that dress. It had a sweetheart neckline that showed just a bit of cleavage. From the neckline up on her chest was just creamy white skin. The fabric across her breasts connected under her armpits to long sleeves that sat on the edge of her shoulders and were slightly puffed. The dress hugged her curves, all the way down to a mid thigh length. She was wearing black tights and heeled booties. As she walked across the room to grab her purse, he saw the back of the dress was high, a long zipper starting at the back of her neck and running down to the middle of her butt. What he wouldn't give to unzip that.

Stella was smirking as she passed Casey. "Need a defibilator, buddy?" She joked. He glared at her, following the rest of them out of the apartment.

"You guys wanna ride with us?" Kelly asked.

"Um, no offense, but nobody is climbing in the back of your car in a dress," Sylvie insisted.

"I can drive us?" Casey suggested.

"Or," Stella jumped in, "boys take the Mustang, girls take Sylvie's car."

Casey shrugged, climbing into Kelly's passenger seat.

"What was that about?" Sylvie grumbled as she got into her car. She would've loved to ride with Casey.

"Girl, then you'd definitely be going home with him. This way, you have options."

"Oh. Wait, i thought you wanted me to go home with Casey?"

"I want you to do whatever you want to do," Stella responded.

They went to a nice dinner, Stella and Kelly sat on one side of the booth, touching the whole time. His hand at the base of her neck, her hand on his thigh, their feet intertwined under the table as they ate. Sylvie was entirely too aware of Casey sitting next to her, and she barely spoke a word.

Casey was also rather silent, listening to Stella babble about all the changes she was making to their apartment. Glancing down at his lap, he noticed Sylvie's legs next to his, her skirt had ridden up a bit, and he thought of when he had run his hand up those beautiful legs under that blue dress... He sighed, closing his eyes for a second, willing his mind to think of anything else. When he opened them, the whole table was staring at him.

"Sorry, bit of a headache."

"Do you want some aspirin?" Sylvie asked, concerned.

"I'm okay, thanks."

They finished their meals, paid, and left the restaurant. Arriving at the club, they parked a few spots away from Kelly's car. Stella looped her arm with Sylvie's and they walked through the door, Casey and Severide on their heels.

The music was pumping, bodies covered the dance floor, swaying to the beat.

"Hey guys!"

Sylvie turned to see Emily, holding the hand of a tall, model-esque blonde woman, who she introduced as Anna.

Sylvie was suddenly nervous, fidgeting with her bracelet. "Come dance with us!" Foster suggested, excitedly, but Sylvie shook her head.

"My girl needs a drink first," Stella announced, leading her to the bar.

They sat at an open spot, Stella ordered two martinis. "Bottoms up," she giggled to Sylvie, clinking their glasses. Sylvie smiled, Stella always had a way of easing her nerves.

Sylvie glanced around, seeing that Severide and Casey had sat at a table and were drinking beers.

"Should we go join them?" Sylvie asked.

Stella glanced their way. "Sure," but before they got up, Sylvie felt someone settle into the seat beside her.

"Hi. Can I buy you a drink?"

She turned to see a handsome stranger with dark hair and green eyes. He was wearing slacks and a button down shirt, his face looked kind.

"Hi," she said quietly.

"I'm Jason. I probably should've started with that," he chuckled, giving her a gentle smile.

"This is Sylvie, I'm Stella." Kidd said, leaning around Brett.

"Hi Sylvie. Hi Stella." He responded nodding at each of them and being sure to greet Stella, although his eyes returned to Sylvie.

"Can I get you guys a refill on your drinks?"

Sylvie looked at Stella, who was smirking. She gave Sylvie a questioning look, and noted that Sylvie looked excited, poor thing was already blushing at the stranger's attention.

"Thank you, Jason, but I should go join my boyfriend. Sylvie here though is free to chat." And with that, Stella patted Sylvie's knee and went over to Kelly.

"Hi." Sylvie said again, turning her attention back to Jason. A bit of stubble was evident along his jawline, and she noticed what looked like the top of a tattoo peaking out at his collar on the back of his neck.

"Hi, Sylvie," he said. "Another martini?"

"Sure!" He waved at the bartender, then turned back to her.

"So, what do you do?"

"I'm a paramedic."

His eyes opened in surprise. "Oh, wow. That is so out of my league."

She laughed, a genuine laugh. "Why do you say that?"

"Well you save lives. That's a much more important job than a middle school English teacher."

"What?! You're a teacher?!"

"Yeah, trust me, doesn't compare to a paramedic."

"But still, equally important. Your educating future generations."

He chuckled. "It's middle school. Most of the time I'm cleaning gum off my desks and trying to help remember locker combinations."

"Still, a public servant, nonetheless." She smiled wide at him, sipping her drink. The conversation was flowing easily, and she continued to chat with Jason.

Meanwhile, Casey was trying to not be obvious as he watched Sylvie giggling at her new companion. When the man put his arm around the back of her chair, he felt his blood start to boil.

"Casey?"

Quickly glancing away to Stella, he saw a smirk on her face. "What."

"Whatchya looking at?"

"I just want to make sure Brett is safe with that guy."

"Why don't you go rescue her if you think she needs it?"

Glancing over again, he saw Sylvie laugh, shoving playfully at the man's shoulder. Why had he agreed to come here?

"I'm going to get some air."

He got up, walking towards the back of the club.

As he was almost to the end of the bar, he heard a "hey." Someone was touching his bicep, and he turned to see a petite blonde whose dress had entirely too little fabric.

"Um, hi."

"Are you leaving so soon?" She pressed against him, her hand wrapping around his arm.

"Just getting some air."

"Do you want company?"

He glanced down the bar to Sylvie, who was looking at him. When their eyes met, she quickly looked away.

"Fine." He walked out the door, his arm still entrapped by his companion.

Sylvie saw Casey talking to a hot little blonde, and watched as the girl started feeling up his muscles. Arms that had been around her earlier that day. She watched as the girl whispered something to him, and when he looked over at her, she quickly looked at her drink, but notice him walk out the door with the woman out of the corner of her eye.

"Sylvie?"

"Hm?" She had totally missed Jason's comment.

"I said, have you lived in Chicago long?"

"Oh, no. I grew up in a small town. Can I get another?" She asked as the bartender swept by. What was Casey doing outside with that woman?


	10. Chapter 10

Casey stood outside, the blonde who had come with him was chattering non stop. Now he definitely had a headache.

"...and so I told my friend Amber, look, a guy who looks like that, no way, so are you?"

He turned, confused. "What?"

"Are you single?"

"Um, yeah."

He face lit up, her hand running across his chest, she stepped in front of him, pressing her body against his.

"Maybe we should get out of here?" She suggested.

"Um, no thanks, I don't even know you're name."

The girl frowned, raising an eyebrow at him she laughed, "do you have to?"

What? "Um, do you even want to know my name?"

"Honestly, I really don't care. Your just super hot and my friends said I should go for it so..."

Disgusted, he pulled away from her, shaking his head. "Maybe go find some self respect," he called over his shoulder, and headed back into the club. As he returned, he noticed Sylvie was no longer at the bar. Glancing around, he didn't see her anywhere. Shit. She went home with that stranger. Cursing himself, he looked around frantically for any of his friends, seeing Kelly and Stella making out in the booth where he had left them.

"Guys. Guys? Did Sylvie leave?"

Stella glanced up at him. "Relax, lover boy. She's dancing with Foster." He glanced out to the dance floor, and sure enough, there she was, giggling. She looked like she was having fun.

"What happened to the guy at the bar?"

Stella shrugged, returning her lips to Kelly's. "Let's go home," he whispered as he nibbled on her ear.

He turned to Casey, "can you get a ride with Brett?"

"Sure," he responded, and Kelly and Stella left, wrapped up in each other.

Casey made his way through the crowd on the dance floor, trying to get to Sylvie. "Hey, sexy," a woman said, touching him.

"Not interested," he snapped, and continued pressing forward. He hated this place. He hated the noise, the smells, the throngs of people. Why did everyone keep touching him? Casey just wanted to go home. He'd take a night on the couch with Sylvie watching Jeopardy any day over this mess.

He finally reached Sylvie, Emily and Anna. Sylvie's arm were wrapped around Emily and she was saying, "seriously, you're like, my best friend."

Foster laughed, seeing Casey approach she turned to him, "Dude, you have got to get this child home, she is trashed."

Casey frowned at Sylvie and she pouted, "I just had a wittle bit," she insisted.

"Girl, a little bit for you is enough to knock you out," Foster laughed. "Casey, i trust you can take care of this?"

He nodded. "Yes ma'am," and helped Sylvie towards the door. He was relieved she hadn't gone home with the bar guy. Especially not in this state. They reached her car and he helped her into the passenger seat, trying to put on her seatbelt, she swatted at his hands.

"I can put on a seatbelt," she slurred. He had already buckled it, but she made a show of unbuckling and re-buckling it. "See?" She said, a proud smile on her face. He chuckled, climbing into the driver's seat, he took them home.

"I can walk, you don't have to help me," she was saying as they headed towards their apartment door, his arm around her for support.

"Okay." He let go, stepping back as she stumbled forward, smacking her shoulder against the wall.

"Ow."

"Yeah, show me how good you can walk again?" He laughed. Drunk Brett was certainly a funny character. She had serenaded him the whole way home with show tunes from her high school musical career.

Unlocking the door, he helped her inside, sitting her on the couch. She reached down to her shoes, falling short she cried desperately, "helppp meeee."

He kneeled in front of her, gently removing the booties from her feet. "Those shoes are the devil," she told him, rolling and stretching her ankles. He sat beside her, taking her feet in his lap he started to rub them.

She moaned. "Holy shit, that is better than sex."

He scoffed, surprised by her cursing and her comment. "I highly doubt that."

She nodded. "Mhmm. Totally. I mean, I haven't had tons of experience, but it is," she said, her voice still slurred.

"Apparently you haven't had very good experiences," he suggested, continuing to massage her feet.

"How many experiences have you had?"

"Um, what? Like, altogether?" How was he supposed to come up with that number?

"No, silly, how many people?"

Was she seriously asking how many people he'd slept with?

"Why is that important?"

"My number is 2. Just 2. I'm practically a saint," she paused, eyeing him expectantly. "Well?"

He sighed. "8? Maybe 9?"

"Damn. You're not even sure?!"

"It was mostly when I was younger," he said defensively.

She sighed. "Well, you make me look like a prude."

He shook his head. "No, Sylvie. It's not some great accomplishment."

Her gaze was watching him intently as silence filled the room. Then she said, "let's make it 9 or 10," and she quickly closed the distance between them, smashing her lips to his.

Drunk Sylvie was still a good kisser, although a little sloppy. This time it was her who started to get handsy. Her hands were at his waistband, unbuttoning his pants, sliding under his shirt up his chest. Her kisses trailed down to his neck, her hands stroking his abs, sliding lower. He grabbed her hand, sitting up.

"Not like this, Sylvie."

She gasped for air, her brain feeling foggy. Was this a dream? Or reality? She was very tired. She lunged for him again, pulling at his shirt, but his strong hands stopped her.

"Sylvie, please stop." It was killing him, but he knew this shouldn't happen tonight. Not like this.

"Come to bed with me," she pleaded sleepily. Pulling his hand toward her bedroom. He followed, reluctantly. Crossing the threshold, she turned her back to him, pointing at her dress. "Help me out of this?"

He complied, unzipping the dress, she let it fall, turning her underwear clad body towards him. "And these?" She pulled at her tights seductively, and he cursed himself as he slowly slide them down her legs, appreciating every inch of exposed flesh. As he stood back up, she gently pulled his face to hers, kissing him deeply. "Please, Matt?" She pleaded, toying with his pants again.

He groaned, swallowing hard. "I'm sorry," he whispered, and shook his head gently.

She shrugged, suddenly overcome with fatigue, yawning. He helped her into her bed, covering her up, he gave her a light kiss on the forward and went to his own room for the night.

The next morning Sylvie woke up to her alarm clock screaming at her. She groaned, swatting at it until it stopped. Why did the sun have to come out today. Her memory of the previous evening was fuzzy, but she vaguely remembered begging Casey to have sex with her. Ugh, why was she such an idiot? She fumbled through her morning routine, getting dressed. She had a splitting headache. She should've just stayed home watching Jeopardy on the couch with Casey instead of going out with Stella. She could almost gaurantee it would've turned out better.

Walking out to the kitchen, of course he was sitting at the island drinking coffee already. Seeing her enter, he stated, "I made it extra strong today."

She nodded appreciatively. "You the bomb," she said, pouring a cup. She sat down on the stool beside him, "I, however, am a dweeb."

He smiled, turning to her. "No, you're not."

"Casey, I practically molested you last night."

He shrugged. "I can handle myself."

"Ugh, I'm MORTIFIED. I swear to never drink again."

"Really? Drunk Brett is kind of hilarious."

She rolled her eyes, smacking him playfully. She continued to sip at her coffee until she said, "8 or 9? Really?"

He groaned. "Out of everything, that's what sticks out?"

She laughed effortlessly again. Maybe she could do this friend thing. It didn't seem so hard.

"Let's agree to forget it ever happened, okay?"

"Sure," he responded, although he would've preferred to try again with a sober Sylvie Brett.

"Friends?" She asked nervously.

"Of course," he responded, disappointed. They gathered their things and headed into 51, sharing equally embarrassing stories of their drunken mishaps.

Arriving at the firehouse, they walked to the door together, and after getting dressed in their uniforms, he followed her to the break room. That was unusual, he usually went to his officers quarters first thing.

"There she is, dancing machine!" Foster said, walking in the door and poking Sylvie in the back. Sylvie smiled weakly. "How was the rest of your night?" Foster continued.

Casey was trying to listen without being too obvious, wondering what Sylvie would say.

"Um, good. Slept it off," she mumbled, her gaze fixed on the floor. She moved to sit at the table, quietly eating a muffin alone.

Foster's eyes followed her, confusion on her face. Looking back to Casey, she eyed him curiously. "Is that what happened?"

He nodded. "To the best of my knowledge."

"Huh." Foster walked away, still feeling like somebody was leaving out part of the story. The shift started out slow, Casey had the guy's run some drills and inventory to stay busy. Mid-morning they were doing wind sprints out on the driveway. It was a beautiful spring day, finally things were starting to warm up, the temperature was just about 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

"Hey!" Hermann walked up with a basketball and backboard. "My neighbor's kid went to college and he's getting rid of this stuff, what do you say we put it up and have a game?"

Everyone was enthusiastic about the idea, so they got the ladder truck out and some tools, and quickly mounted the hoop.

"Alright, Casey and Severide team Captains?" Joe suggested. They nodded, and started picking their rosters.

Casey began, "Gallo."

"Cruz."

"Hermann."

"Ritter."

"Capp."

Severide glanced around for another player, to a lawn chair over in the shade. "Um, Mouch?"

"Nope. Not gonna happen. I'll be the official ref." Mouch suggested.

"What about me?" Stella walked out from the garage bay, looking at Severide.

He smiled at her, "Kidd."

They formed their teams, Foster and Brett came out from inventorying their ambulance to watch.

"Shirts verses skins?" Gallo suggested, pulling off his CFD t-shirt.

"Um..." Casey hesitated, but Hermann and Capp shrugged, removing their shirts. Even though they were senior firefighters, their job kept them in great shape.

Casey sighed, pulling off his shirt. This was probably not professional, but when he saw Sylvie watching, he let his doubts slip away.

"Ow ow!" Foster cat-called at them, laughing. Sylvie beside her was trying to look anywhere else but at Casey. Her toes looked like a good thing to examine right now.

The game got intense quickly. Both teams were super competitive. And Stella was a machine. She had just scored her third basket, all of Casey's team groaned. Kelly was all smiles, putting his arm around her. "You're like my secret weapon," he laughed.

"Damn, you're good at basketball Kidd!" Hermann exclaimed, catching his breath.

"Played varsity in high school," she said with a smirk.

Casey's team was falling behind, but they were all in good spirits. Foster and Brett were really getting I the game, and Sylvie cheered a little louder when Casey did a layup, scoring for his team. He shot her a grin, and she inhaled sharply. Friends, Brett, just friends, she reminded herself, as she watched him run across the court and swat the ball away from Cruz.

Casey heard her scream when he scored, glancing over she was clapping for him, and he gave her a wide grin. He liked that she was watching, it made him show off a little. But by the end of the game, his team lost by 4 points.

"A valiant effort boys," Stella was saying, "maybe next time you can have Sylvie on your team for good luck," she smirked as she passed Brett.

As Casey walked inside, he heard Stella's comment, leaning in as he passed Sylvie he whispered, "I'd like that," grinning at her again. His bare chest was glistening with sweat, and Sylvie shuddered with an urge to touch him. Friends. She inhaled slowly. Just friends. She exhaled.

Following everyone else inside, she walked over to Stella.

"Hey, so what happened with Jason last night?" Stella asked.

"Oh. He was nice. I got his number. I wasn't really ready for anything more though."

"So did anything happen with you and Casey?"

"No." Sylvie said quietly.

"Hm." Stella wasn't buying it. "So nothing should be holding you back from calling Jason."

"I don't know..."

"Oh, admit it, Brett," Stella hissed. "You're into Casey, he's into you. I thought maybe going out last night would help you realize that. Look at him, Sylvie." She glanced across the room to Casey talking to Boden, "he's not going to wait forever. And if you don't do something about those feelings you have, you're going to wonder the rest of your life if it would've been amazing."

Sylvie was stunned by Stella's outburst. She sighed, putting her head in her hands.

Stella continued, "And don't you dare say to me 'what if it goes all wrong' well, at least you'll know and then you can repair your friendship. But if you ask me, you've already gotten into a gray area, you might as well keep going." And with that, she turned and walked off, leaving Sylvie alone and confused.

After a shift of only a few minor calls, Sylvie still felt exhausted mentally and emotionally. She stopped at Casey's office door, knocking lightly.

"Hey, I just kind of want to go home, I'll catch a ride with someone if you're going out."

He smiled at her, putting some papers in a file. "I'll be done in a second. Also, I think I've filled my going out quota for the week with that nightclub."

She smiled and sat down on his bed to wait, watching as he tidied up his desk. Grabbing his bag, he followed her out door to his truck. They drove home in silence, and when they got to the apartment, she headed for her room.

"Hey, Brett?" He called after her. She turned and he continued, "Are you okay?"

"Oh yeah. I'm just really tired," she fibbed.

"Okay." And she disappeared into her room, closing the door. He ate some food and watched TV, then went to his room to go to sleep.

Sylvie managed to sleep for a little, but woke up restless in the middle of the night. Glancing at her clock that said "11:47pm" she groaned, willing her body to go back to sleep, but her mind was racing with thoughts of her conversation with Stella. Maybe she was right. She didn't want to have any regrets. Regrets for ruining their friendship or regrets for what could have been between them romantically. But her heart was leaning towards Casey being more than a friend. Gathering her courage, she got out of bed, and made her way to the room on the other side of the apartment.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Sorry for the glitches on the first upload, I got a new computer and the operating system is different! Thanks for letting me know, happy reading!

Sylvie padded down the hallway to Casey's room, butterflies in her stomach. She had to know. She had to at least try. Pausing at his door, she took a deep breath. Now or never.

She pushed the door open. The light from the hallway fell over him asleep in his bed. His torso was bare, the covers pulled up to his hips. He was breathing steadily, laying on his back, one arm thrown behind his head. She inched closer, swallowing, trying to find her voice.

"Casey?" She whispered, but he didn't stir. She cleared her throat and tried again a little louder, "Matt?"

His eyes opened wearily, confusion flashing across his face. When he saw her standing there in her pajama shorts and a t-shirt, he sat up quickly.

"What's wrong, what do you need?" He started to get out of bed, his bottom half covered only by a pair of boxer briefs. Rubbing his eyes, concern was written all over his face.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing is wrong..." Damn, she hadn't really planned this out well.

He looked at her, waiting for the answer for why she was in his room at midnight. She moved closer, sitting beside him on his bed.

"I, um, I'm not really sure how to say this..."

"Sylvie, please, you're starting to make me worried. Tell me," he begged.

She took a deep breath, her body was trembling with nerves, and he noticed, reaching his arm around her shoulder, "Are you feeling okay?"

Maybe instead of telling him, she could show him. She leaned into his embrace, planting a firm, soft kiss on his lips. He pulled back, surprised, and looked down at her.

"What are you doing?"

She turned her pleading, doe eyes up to him. "I like you," she stated. "Like, a lot."

Oh. _Oh. _Realization set in on his face. "Sylvie..." He hesitated, unsure what to say.

"Look, if you want me to leave, I'll go back to my room right now and we can never speak of this again," she told the floor, wishing she had never come over here. Seriously, how desperate was she?

He gently put his hand at her cheek, turning her face to look at him he responded, "I don't want you to leave." And he kissed her, with more urgency this time, laying her back and shifting her body so her back was against the mattress, underneath him. He trailed kisses from her lips to her ear to her neck, sliding his hands under her shirt to the smooth skin at her waist. For a while they just kissed, him rubbing his hand across her abdomen. She finally reached out and gently wrapped her arms around his bare back, pulling his body more tightly to hers. He pressed into her, feeling heat at every inch where their skin touched. He tugged at her shirt gently, and she raised her arms, giving him permission to pull it off. He swallowed hard when he saw she wasn't wearing anything underneath, and ran his thumb gently across her breasts, causing her to gasp. She was still shaking, and he whispered, "Are you alright?"

She nodded vigorously, stroking his biceps with her fingers.

"Are you cold?" He asked, genuinely concerned.

She shook her head and whispered sheepishly, "I'm just nervous."

"Why, Sylvie? We don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"No, I do. Trust me, I do, I just..." She sighed, "you're Matt Casey, you're practically the perfect guy, and I mean, 8 or 9 other women probably think so too and I'm not sure I'm good enough for you..." She was babbling, and he silenced her with a kiss.

Pulling away he said softly, "it's just you and me here now, Sylvie. And I think you're pretty perfect, yourself."

With that, they continued to make out in his bed, until she tugged at the hem of his boxers. He gazed questioningly into her eyes and she nodded slightly in agreement, and they helped each other shed the rest of their clothes.

So much of him was touching her, caressing her, kissing her. He was sweet and gentle, and made damn sure she was comfortable and consenting every step of the way. Sylvie let herself get lost in him, and it was like nothing she'd ever experienced before.

Casey woke up the next morning, something was tickling his nose again. Opening his eyes he caught a glimpse of blonde hair, glancing down to see the rest of it splayed across his bare chest. Sylvie's head was resting on him, her arm slung over his abdomen, one of her legs across his under the sheets. His left arm disappeared around her body under the covers that were pulled up to her shoulder, but he could feel the smooth skin of her back at his hand. Taking his right hand, he caressed her bare arm, watching her sleep peacefully.

She smiled, in a sleepy haze and he kissed her forehead, sliding his body out from under her. He headed out to the kitchen to start getting ready before shift.

Sylvie felt his warmth leave the bed, and she frowned. Laying there alone, she glanced at the clock, knowing she should get ready, but wanting to stay in his bed a little longer. She wondered what this meant for their relationship. She knew what she wanted, but what did he want? She got up, grabbing a flannel from his closet, she walked out to the kitchen.

He was sipping his coffee at his usual spot like nothing had changed. She smiled awkwardly, unsure what to say.

He got up, closing the distance between them, smiling widely, he said quietly, "good morning."

"Morning."

He saw she was wearing his shirt, and found it incredibly attractive. Leaning in he gave her a sweet kiss.

"So. Now what?" She asked nervously.

"Now we get ready for shift?" He said, cocking his head.

"I mean, what about us? Was that just a one time thing or..."

"Well, I was hoping not. Maybe we could just see where it goes." He shrugged.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Smiling at him she nodded, hurrying to her room to change so they wouldn't be late.

Driving into work she sat quietly, so many thoughts running through her head.

"So," he broke the silence, "please tell me that was at least better than a foot massage."

She laughed, smiling at him she responded, "oh, yeah."

She watched as his face broke out in a satisfied smile, and he slipped his free hand into hers. Pulling up to the firehouse, she suddenly remembered they were about to spend 24 hours with some of the most lovable people, but also the nosiest.

"Can we just keep this to ourselves for now?" She asked.

He nodded his head. "Copy."

He let go of her hand, and they headed into work, making certain to not walk to close together.

But when they arrived in the locker room, it was clear everyone was already buzzing with some news. Joe rushed up to them excitedly, "Guys, guess what? I'm going to be a dad!"

Oh right, Sylvie thought. She probably should've been a better friend and followed up with Chloe on that. Her and Casey congratulated Joe and he continued.

"Yeah, we just went to an appointment yesterday to be sure, and Chloe is pregnant! 8 weeks! Were still trying to process it, but it's going to be great."

Casey patted Joe on the back saying sincerely, "You're going to be an amazing dad." And he headed to his locker. Everyone was chatting about Cruz and Chloe, no one paid any attention to the fact that Brett and Casey were unusually quiet, or that they were both grinning like idiots all day.

After a morning call to a car accident, ambulance 61 returned from talking the victim to Chicago Med. Sylvie took her report to Casey's office, but was disappointed to not find him there. She wandered around the administrative section of the firehouse for a bit hoping to find him, but she was unsuccessful. Walking into the break room, she saw him talking to Cruz and Severide, so she sat with Kidd and Foster.

"Hey, Brett, what did you end up doing last night? I didn't see you at Molly's," Stella questioned.

"Went home, went to bed. Very boring," she responded.

"Huh." Stella looked at her quizzically.

"So, has Cruz been talking baby details?" Sylvie asked, trying to change the subject.

"Well, we're already starting a bet for boy or girl. I'm saying boy, cause Cruz doesn't have any hair for a little girl to put bows in," Foster laughed.

They heard some commotion outside the door and turned, Hermann came barreling in the door, all smiles, "Look who just can't stay away!" He laughed, stepping aside to show the visitor.

It was Gabby.


	12. Chapter 12

Casey froze when he saw her. Gabby was back? Again? She'd just been in Chicago for a benefit a few months ago and they had been together. But now, everything was different.

Gabby was shaking hands and hugging everyone, Sylvie forced a smile, giving her a quick hug, then fading back into the crowd. She glanced across the room to Casey, his face was like stone. Gabby made her way to him. "Hey, can we talk?" She said, putting her hand fondly on his arm.

"My quarters." Casey said, leaving the room.

Sylvie watched them leave, her heart pounding. She was so _stupid_. She thought there was something real between them after one night together? What about the years of history he had with Gabby?

Casey walked into his office, making way for Gabby he closed the door behind her.

"So," she began, "my team leader was so impressed with how I did at the benefit gala he's making me a permanent liaison between Chicago and Puerto Rico," she said excitedly.

"So?"

She frowned at his coldness. "So, I'll be making it back to Chicago a lot more often," she moved closer to him, touching his arm, "I thought maybe we'd have a chance to spend some more time together."

Before Casey could respond, the alarm went off.

"Engine 51, Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambo 61, warehouse fire 91st and Jefferson St."

Casey stormed out of the room, Gabby called after him, "we'll talk later!"

He jumped in the rig, his thoughts racing. What was Gabby saying? She wanted a relationship? A friendship? Was he just a booty call? Casey strapped on his helmet, barely waiting for the truck to stop at the scene before he jumped out, barking orders and throwing himself into the job to help him push the thoughts of Gabby away.

Hours later the fire was finally under control and the crew from 51 headed back to the firehouse. It was starting to get dark and they were covered in soot and grime, exhausted from the days work. But Casey ordered them to clean all their gear before hitting their bunks, so they sat in a group in the garage bay washing things down. Sylvie looked over from her spot restocking the ambulance to see Casey furiously scrubbing at his boots. She could tell something was on his mind, and her best guess was that it had to do with Gabby. She sighed, catching Foster's attention.

"What's up with you?" Emily asked.

"Um, just a long day, ya know?"

Emily narrowed her eyes. "Brett, you've been weird all day. What's up?"

Sylvie shook her head, "I'm fine really. Just tired."

"Well, then let's go to bed." She responded, pulling Sylvie towards the bunk room. Brett cast a glance over her shoulder, but Casey didn't even look up at them as they passed. They made it to the bunk room and Sylvie collapsed, letting sleep overcome her.

Casey was the last one awake, organizing and reorganizing his desk, not allowing himself to rest for fear of thoughts of Gabby creeping in. He wandered to the break room, looking for something to eat.

Sylvie woke up in the middle of the night, creeping down to Casey's office she saw the door was open, but he wasn't there. Where could he be? She walked down the hall, peaking in some rooms. Opening the door to the break room, it was dark. Did he go meet Gabby? Sylvie felt like she wanted to cry, and returned to her bunk alone.

"Why did she come back? What does she want from me?" Casey spoke out loud, his head in his hands. He sat on the grass beside Otis's memorial, his elbows on his knees. Just when it looked like something could happen with Sylvie, Gabby showed up. He sighed, patting the cold stone as he stood. Casey knew he was going to have to make a choice between what his heart wanted and what his head told him was right. "Otis would've told me to go with my heart," he muttered as he walked back into the station.

Alarms started blaring and Sylvie sat up in her bunk, blinking. A residential fire at 4am. She rubbed her eyes and grabbed her gear, running for the Ambo. She saw Casey climbing in the truck, where had he been? Racing to the scene, they were told by a neighbor there was a family inside.

Casey started delegating orders. Severide, Cruz and him headed into the building from the front while the others got the ladder up to a second story window. An onlooker claimed they'd seen someone there. Entering the house, Casey could see the kitchen was ablaze.

"Fire Department, call out!" He shouted, moving farther into the house.

"Here!" He heard a weak voice. Dropping low he saw a young boy around 10 beside an unconscious woman. "My mom collapsed!" The boy said with fear.

"Don't worry buddy, we'll get her help."

Severide and Cruz carried the woman out, Casey guided the boy. When they were back outside he heard in his head set that they'd found a teenage girl on the second story with a dog.

"Is anyone else in the house?" Casey asked the boy, who shook his head no. He walked the boy to Brett, giving her a small smile, then he was gone again.

Ambulance 61 took the mother to Chicago Med. Her airways were badly burned and she had to be intubated, it was touch and go. Sylvie and Emily waited around with the boy for a while, until Dr. Halstead emerged from the mother's room. "She's in pretty bad shape, but she's stable." Will said. "You guys probably saved her life by intubating in the field, her airways were closing up fast." He smiled at them, touching Sylvie's arm in thanks. She glanced at the boy, then at her watch. Their shift had been over 20 minutes ago.

"You take the Ambo back, I'm going to stay here with the boy," Sylvie told Emily.

"Are you sure?" Foster asked.

Sylvie nodded. "I can take a bus or catch a ride home later." Her gaze fell on the scarred child and she insisted, "I can't let him be here alone."

Emily smiled, she knew Sylvie well enough to not argue. She patted her friend's back and hurried out to get the ambulance back to 51.

Casey was the only one from their shift still at the firehouse when the ambulance backed into its bay. He had been waiting to see Sylvie, he needed to talk to her. He saw Foster jump out of the rig and frowned.

"Where's Brett?"

"She stayed with the little boy. Said she'd find a way home." Foster headed to the locker room to clean up and go home.

Casey was disappointed, she hadn't even let him know. Just then, his phone buzzed and he glanced down and saw her name. His heart jumped a bit, but when he opened the text it just said, "Can you take my stuff home?"

That's it? Casey sighed, grabbed their stuff and drove home. He got into the apartment and crashed on the couch.

Casey awoke to knocking. Sylvie? He had brought her stuff home, so she wouldn't have her key. He walked over to the door and opened it to see...

Gabby. His face fell. "What's up?"

"I thought we could continue our conversation?" She said with a small smile.

He stepped back, allowing her in. She glanced around the room, "I heard you and Brett are roommates. That actually makes perfect sense, you two are both neat freaks," she laughed.

"What do you want, Gabby?"

Irritation flashed across her face at his curtness. "Um, well like I was saying yesterday, I'm going to be back to Chicago a lot more often... And I miss you, Matt. We had so much fun last time, I thought maybe we could... hang out some more."

He was silent.

"Well this is awkward," she chuckled. "Look, Matt I know it's a lot, I'm not saying I want us to be something again I just -"

"How often?" He cut her off.

"What?"

"How often will you be back to Chicago?"

"It's not set in stone, maybe every few months? A couple times a year."

"So," he scoffed, "you want me to be your Chicago booty call?"

She sighed, "No, that's not what I'm saying. I mean, that'd be nice, but really can we at least be friends? Someone I can get dinner with when I'm here? You're the only one who knows me."

Casey shook his head. "No. I don't know you. Not anymore. We've grown in different directions, Gabby. Plus," he looked to the floor, "I'm seeing someone."

Gabby' mouth dropped open in surprise, but she quickly changed her face to a smile. "I'm happy for you," she said, giving him a quick hug.

Just then the door opened, and Sylvie entered. Her eyes got wide and she said, "oh, sorry to interrupt."

Casey stepped away from Gabby, who was waving at Sylvie. "Hey girl! You look rough," Gabby chuckled.

Casey asked, "How'd you get in, I brought your stuff?"

Sylvie held up a key ring, "I keep a spare on me," she responded quietly. "I'm going to take a shower," she said unenthusiastically, leaving the room.

"Well, guess I'll see you around," Gabby smiled at Casey after Brett had left. "But seriously, Matt, there's always a spot at my table for Matt Casey."

He smiled back at her holding out his hand. "Friends?"

She shook it, agreeing, "Friends." And she left with a small wave.

Sylvie emerged from a longer than usual shower, Casey was waiting in the kitchen.

"Hey, can we talk?"

She sighed, "I had a long night, I'd rather go to bed."

Casey's face looked concerned. "How's the boy's mother and sister?"

She smiled wearily. "Good. Both are stable, doing really great."

"That's good," he stepped towards her, but she moved away, her face turning to stone.

"What did Gabby want?"

"Oh. Well, um." He hesitated.

She rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, she wants you back." Sylvie started to walk away, Casey following her.

"Well, sort of, I mean it was suggested, but I told her I just want to be friends."

Sylvie stopped. "So you'd say you have no feelings for Gabby?"

"Yeah. Just friends."

Sylvie breathed a sign of relief. "So I guess absence does not make the heart grow fonder. Was it over before she left for Puerto Rico or..."

Casey closed his eyes, knowing he had to be honest. "I still had feelings for her, yeah. But we knew it wouldn't work. And when she was back a few months ago... it stirred up those feelings. But a lot has changed since then." He moved to step closer to her, but her face was hard to read.

"A few months ago... did something happen between you guys?"

Casey's silence answered her question.

"What the hell," she said in disbelief.

"Sylvie, it was just one time, it didn't mean anything."

As soon as the words were out he realized the implication. She grabbed her bag, heading for the door. "Good to know." She spat at him as he tried to explain.

"I didn't mean it like that, Sylvie, we were different-"

She slammed the door in his face as she left.


	13. Chapter 13

Stella and Kelly were cozied up on the couch watching a movie when they heard a knock on the door. Severide got up and opened the door to Sylvie.

"Hey, guys. Can I hang out here a bit? Casey and Gabby are at our house and I think they need some space," she lied.

"What?! Are they back together?" Stella looked at Kelly for confirmation, but he just shrugged. He knew what had happened the last time Gabby was in Chicago, but he wasn't about to tell them that.

"No idea, I just know I don't want to get in the middle of it," Sylvie said, flopping on the couch.

"Aw, I'm sorry, girl. Just when you were finally realizing your feelings for Casey!" Stella exclaimed. "Talk about bad timing."

Sylvie shrugged , turning her attention to the movie. Stella went to make popcorn, and Brett glanced over at Severide who had a a questioning look on his face.

"What?" She asked.

"You really think Casey would just get back with Gabby? After everything going on with you and him?"

Sylvie froze. What did Severide know? Casey had told him when they kissed, had he told him what else they'd done!?

"Popcorn is up, and I'm ordering pizza!" Stella said excitedly. "We should all go out tonight, too!"

Sylvie's face had a pained look. "Please Stella, no more clubs," Sylvie begged.

"Well where do you propose we go?"

Brett and Severide exchanged a grin, and Stella sighed. "Of course."

Hours later Casey walked into Molly's, hoping he'd find Sylvie there. She'd been gone the rest of the day, and he didn't want to overwhelm her by going after her. He wasn't sure what the right thing to do was, but he was trying to give her space. He walked in and breathed a sign of relief when he saw her sitting with Kidd and Foster... and Gabby. Seriously?

Casey headed for the opposite end of the bar, ordering a drink. He watched Sylvie at the end of the bar, talking to Gabby. This was seriously unfair.

Sylvie saw Casey walk into the bar and ordered another drink. Running into him eventually was inevitable. Gabby had sat with them, talking about her work in Puerto Rico, and Sylvie was doing her best to be interested. Gabby leaned in asking the girls,"So, who's Casey's new girlfriend?"

Sylvie swallowed her drink, forcing a smile. "What!? He has a girlfriend?!"

Emily had a confused look, and Stella's mouth dropped open a bit in surprise. She turned to Sylvie, a look of triumph on her face. Stella quickly asked, "what makes you think that?"

"Oh, he said he was seeing someone."

"Did he say who?!" Stella asked, her eyes still watching Sylvie.

"No? You guys don't know?"

"Nope." Sylvie responded, sipping her drink and glaring at Stella.

"Well, it sounds like he's really into her," Gabby said. "You know, I'm happy for him, really. He deserves everything he wants in life."

"Don't we all!" Foster laughed, taking a drink. "Now, if y'all will excuse me, I've got to meet someone." She walked off, meeting a handsome dark haired man at the door.

"I'm going to go talk to the boys, catch up with you guys later?" Gabby said, heading towards Cruz and Mouch. Brett and Kidd smiled and gave her a little wave.

Stella turned to Sylvie, slapping her arm. "You've been holding out on me!"

"Ow! No!" Sylvie rubbed her arm.

"It's you. It's gotta be you. What happened with you guys?!" Stella was buzzing with excitement.

"It doesn't matter," Sylvie groaned. "It was a one time thing, it meant nothing to him, that's what he said."

"ONE TIME THING!?" Stella hissed, "Holy shit, did you sleep with him!?"

Sylvie put her head down on her arms on the bar, mumbling into her sleeve, "I'm an idiot."

Stella's eyes grew wide, but she stayed cool. "Stop. Stop being dramatic. Forget all this crap you're making up in your head about how Casey feels and go talk to him," Stella demanded.

"But what if-"

Stella held up her hands to silence Sylvie. "No buts. Just talk to him."

Sylvie glanced towards the end of the bar to where Casey sat alone. She downed the rest of her drink, gaining a little liquid courage for the next conversation. Moving towards him, when he looked up at her she gave him a small smile.

"Hey," she said sitting next to him. "Can we talk?"

Relief flooded him. "Sylvie, you have to know, I didn't mean it like that, Gabby coming back made me realize I don't have feelings for her. I have feelings for you." He said quietly to her, his voice pleading.

"I don't know Matt, It's just all so complicated," she whispered staring at the floor.

"Sylvie, please. Give me a chance. I think you're amazing. And _we_ could be something amazing." She looked up at him, his eyes begging for forgiveness.

"Take me home." She said, her eyes not leaving his.

Casey stood up quickly, heading for the door, Sylvie at his heels. As they passed Stella, she winked at Sylvie, who blushed. Climbing into Casey's truck was so familiar, she was giddy with excitement. And maybe she had a little bit to drink. As he drove, Casey's hand was draped across the seat of the truck, touching her shoulder. She slid over to the middle seat, leaning her head onto his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her body. They got up to their apartment door, Casey started unlocking it, Sylvie's hand wrapped around his bicep. They entered the dim apartment, Casey pulled her into his arms, bringing her face to his. He kissed her deeply, pushing her back against the closed door. Her hands slid down his chest, pulling up on the hem of his shirt, she helped him take it off. Putting his hands on her thighs, he pulled her up into his arms, her legs wrapped around his torso, and he carried her to his bedroom.

Sylvie stretched awake as morning light filtered through the widow. Sitting up, she saw Casey was already gone from his bed. She pulled on one of his shirts, walking out to the kitchen where he sat in just a pair of sweatpants drinking his coffee and looking at some drafts. He turned when he heard her, smiling and saying "Good morning, beautiful."

She rolled her eyes, motioning to her wild hair and smudged make up. "Oh yeah, so sexy."

He laughed, but he still thought she looked beautiful. Her messy hair, standing there in his t shirt, her bare legs begging to be caressed. He grabbed her hand, pulling her into his lap for a kiss, Sylvie ran her hands down his bare chest. Casey glanced at the clock, scooping her up and carrying her back to the bedroom. They had some extra time...

Chief Boden was pacing outside Casey's office. It was unlikely for him to be late, he was usually early to shift. Glancing at his watch again, he was starting to get worried, when he saw Casey jogging down the hallway.

"Sorry Chief, got caught up in traffic."

"Huh. Okay, well, I want to go over some paperwork with you." Casey followed Boden to his office.

Meanwhile, Sylvie slipped into the break room, grabbing a bagel for breakfast, sitting quietly next to Mouch. Suddenly, she felt fingernails digging into her arm as someone pulled her up.

"Supply closet, NOW," Stella hissed, dragging Sylvie down the hall. She thrust her in the door, where Foster was waiting with a confused expression.

"Why are you kidnapping us to the supply closet?" Foster questioned.

"YOU know why," Stella said, pointing at Sylvie. "Spill all the details."

"Guys, I don't think -"

"We had a deal!" Stella exclaimed. "C'mon, you've been leaving Foster in the dark. Tell us all the juicy details!"

"What juicy details are we learning?" Foster questioned.

"About Brett and Casey's love affair."

Foster perked up. "Oh, now I'm definitely interested."

Sylvie sighed, "Guys, there's not much to tell."

"Except that you slept with him at least once!" Stella exclaimed.

Emily's mouth fell open. "Holy shit. You have been holding out on us!"

Sylvie's face was turning red. "Maybe it was a few times."

Foster and Kidd broke out into excited rambling, asking a billion questions, Sylvie trying to shush them. "Guys, be quiet!" She pleaded, "I am so not ready for this to be public."

"Well, how was it!?" Stella asked.

Sylvie gave them a small, shy smile. "Amazing."

Her friends squealed with delight, hugging her. "Girl, you deserve to be happy," Foster affirmed, and Stella nodded her head.

"Yes. It's about time you were with a guy who's going to put _you_ first."

"I hope so," Sylvie responded nervously as the alarm went off and they all raced to their rigs. As she climbed into the ambulance, she caught Casey's gaze, and he flashed her a grin that made her heart flutter. As they raced down the road, a thought creeped into her mind that she couldn't shake. She knew she was falling hard for him, but there were so many things that complicated their relationship. Gabby. Their shared living situation. The fact that he was technically her boss. Everything was happening so fast, and Sylvie was not one for spontaneity. Look where that had gotten her in the past. But their was something about Matt Casey that made her want more. As they arrived on the scene and she watched him race into danger, one more thought popped into her head.

She was going to get her heart broken.


	14. Chapter 14

They arrived back at 51 after spending most of the day at the scene, Casey was covered in soot and grime. It was almost the end of shift, but he still had to supervise his team cleaning and storing their gear. Then he did his paperwork while they hit the showers. As most of his coworkers were leaving for the day, he headed into the locker room to clean up.

Sylvie was searching for Casey to see if he was ready to go home, but he wasn't in his office. Stella was walking down then hall, running her fingers through her wet hair, she spotted Sylvie standing in the hallway and sauntered over. "If you're looking for Casey, he's in the showers," Stella said with a sly smile. "Why don't you join him?" She said, winking.

Sylvie blushed, "Um, I don't think so," she laughed nervously.

Stella shrugged, "your loss." She waved goodbye and walked down to meet Kelly, taking his hand in hers, they disappeared around the corner. Sylvie waited a little longer, watching third shift make their way to the break room. She thought about what Stella said, and mustered up her courage, slipping back into the locker rooms to the showers.

Only one shower was running, and she slipped behind the first curtain, noting Casey's Captain shirt in a pile on the floor. Well that at least confirmed she was in the right place. She quietly pulled off her clothes, quickly folding them and placing them on the bench next to his civilian clothes. Taking a deep breath, she nervously stepped around the next curtain into the shower.

Casey gasped in surprise, but his eyes lit up when he saw her standing there, undressed. He quickly pulled her to him, their lips meeting with a new intensity. His hands were all over her, and as he pressed her body up against the shower wall, she ran her fingernails softly down his back, causing him to let out a low moan.

"Hello?"

They both froze, someone else was also in the locker room.

"Um, yeah?" Casey said, his eyes wide, looking at Sylvie with a panicked expression.

"You okay in there?" The person called.

Sylvie suppressed a laugh, and Casey rolled his eyes at her. "Um, yeah, just a sore shoulder, I'll be good."

They heard the distinct sound of footsteps walking away, and Sylvie teased him in a whisper, "you're going to have to keep the volume down, Captain."

Damn, she was hot. She kissed him, nibbling on his lip as her hands ran down his body, and he suppressed another moan. This was entirely out of character for both of them to be so wild and reckless, but he was enjoying getting to know this side of her. Not only was he attracted to the kind, caring, thoughtful Sylvie Brett, but in combination with the sexy, seductive, secretive Sylvie only he knew, she was perfect. As he pulled her body to his he couldn't help but think he was falling hard for her.

Casey was grabbing his things from his quarters when he ran into Boden.

"You're still here?" The Chief questioned, glancing at his watch.

"Um, yeah I was making sure all the gear was washed good, see ya next shift," Casey said quickly, hurrying out to the truck where Sylvie was waiting, Boden's eyes following him curiously. Casey hopped into his truck, grinning at the pretty blonde next to him. This was definitely a view he wanted to get used to.

And so the weeks went on, Sylvie barely spent any time sleeping in her own bed anymore. She spent her nights curled up next to him, and her time at firehouse 51 pretending like they were just good friends. Recently, her job was really wearing on her, and she came home every day exhausted, and would take naps in his bed without him. One particularly rough day, they got home, Sylvie felt like she wanted to lie down, and Casey was concerned.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, just tired," she told him. "I'm going to lay down." She headed back to his room, cozying into the covers and falling asleep. While she was sleeping, Casey worked at cleaning up the apartment and started making something for dinner. After a few hours, he snuck back to the room, seeing her curled up in his bed, his heart swelled. He watched her for a bit, then moved to the bed, sitting beside her he touched her back gently.

"Hey, are you hungry?"

She rolled over, opening her sleepy eyes she stretched, smiling at him.

"What's for dinner?"

He smiled slyly. "Come and find out for yourself."

She followed him out to the kitchen, where a plate of spaghetti and garlic bread awaited, with a salad on the side. She was suddenly famished, and sat to eat with him, praising his skills with Italian cuisine. He was glad to see her bright and energetic, he knew how personally she took each and every call, and it seemed like it was catching up to her, wearing her body down. She caught him staring and gave him a small, nervous smile, and his heart jumped. They were still in the beginning of their relationship, but Casey could see himself falling in love with her. Fast.

Casey and Brett has barely made it into firehouse 51 for shift when Cruz rushed up to them.

"It's a boy. A BOY. I'm going to have a son!" He told them excitedly.

Sylvie's face lit up. "Joe, that's incredible!"

Casey slapped him on the back. "Congratulations."

After changing in the locker rooms, Sylvie headed to the break room for breakfast, where everyone was buzzing with the baby news.

"I told you," Foster shrugged, "Joe is not meant to have daughters."

Stella sighed, "I just love baby's, there so cute and snuggly, I want one," she noted her companions raised eyebrows and added, "Someday, geez."

"With a certain Squad Lieutenant?" Sylvie teased. It was about time they picked on someone besides her.

But Stella gave her a wicked look. "Don't test me, Brett. I know things."

Sylvie swallowed, a concerned look on her face. "Are you blackmailing me?" She half joked.

Stella poked her fork at Sylvie saying dramatically, "You don't want to know what I'm capable of," but her eyes were twinkling.

Sylvie laughed and glanced across the room to where Casey was plating himself some breakfast, and her thoughts wandered. Someday, he was going to be an incredible husband and father. But with who?

"Do you want that?"

She glanced at Hermann, who was suddenly by her side. Had he seen her staring at Casey?

"Wh...what?" She stammered, glancing back at Casey. She most definitely wanted that, but how did Hermann know?

He pointed at her uneaten Hawaiian role, repeating with an odd expression, "do you want that?" And she breathed a sigh of relief, handing it to him as she went back to daydreaming about Casey.

The morning started out slow, Emily and Sylvie were washing ambulance 61 and doing a tire and oil check. Suddenly, the alarms went off for a residential fire, and they were racing off in the rigs. The house was ablaze when they got there, but they could see a woman waving for help in the upstairs window.

"Get that ladder up to the window!" Casey ordered, asking a neighbor, "is there anyone else in there?"

"I... I don't know, Susan lives there with her son and her elderly mother. I didn't see either of them."

Casey headed towards the door, Severide, Mouch and Gallo with him. "Hermann, get that hose ready!" He shouted, busting open the front door. He could see at the back of the house the kitchen was in flames, and they began calling out for victims.

"Fire Department, call out!"

Mouch and Gallo headed towards the living room while Casey and Severide headed upstairs. The fire had already made its way to the second floor, and was blocking access to the back room where the stranded woman was.

"Casey, we've got the ladder truck up to the window," Cruz said in his headset. "Get her out, now," he told them. His instincts were on edge, and although the fire was encroaching on the staircase, he continued upstairs to search the other bedrooms. "Fire Department, call out!" He yelled again, heading down the hallway. Seeing a closed door, he opened it, revealing a bathroom. Huddled in a bathtub full of water was a fully clothed little boy, an elderly unconscious woman was half in the tub, half out, and the shaking child told them through tears, "I can't wake her up!"

Severide grabbed the woman, wetting towels and tying them around her body, he pulled her out of the room while Casey carried the little boy.

Sylvie was outside, checking the mother who had been brought down from the second floor out the window and down the ladder. She had been asleep on the couch when she woke up to the fire, and raced upstairs to look for her son and mother, but ended up trapped in the back bedroom. Her injuries were minimal, just some smoke inhalation and first degree burns, but she was in hysterics worrying about her family, and Sylvie was doing her best to comfort her.

Sylvie heard Casey on the radio saying, "We've got them, we're gonna need some help upstairs!"

And then the roof of the dwelling collapsed.


	15. Chapter 15

Sylvie watched in horror as the building began to crumble, with her coworkers and the family still inside. Boden grabbed his radio shouting, "Everyone out, NOW!" But the only response was static. Stella started running for the door, but Hermann grabbed her, pulling her away from the dangerous wreckage. There was a moment of silence, then Gallo's voice squawked, "we're trapped in the bathroom! Severide is down!" Joe raced up the ladder towards the wreckage, Boden shouting for him to stop, but he entered the burning building, rules be dammed.

Stella was fighting against Hermann, screaming at him to let her go. Joe called on the radio "the back room is blocked, but I think with help I could lift it."

Chief Boden closed his eyes. Lose half his best firefighters, or save all of them but risk all of them. He knew with lives at stake, they needed to take their chances. "Alright, go go go!" He yelled to the men and women waiting anxiously outside. Hermann drug a hose out on the lawn, ready to let loose when he got the go ahead. Joe, Stella, Capp and Tony raced up the ladder and into the back room, pushing up on the fallen beam from one side, while Gallo and Mouch pulled on the other, finally loosening the rubble enough for them to slip through. Gallo passed Stella the boy, and the grandmother to Capp and Tony. There was already a backboard waiting on the ladder and they secured the victims, taking them down to the ambulance. Stella glanced frantically back at the wreckage, gasping "Where's Kelly!?"

Then she saw him, being half carried, half drug by Casey. He was semi conscious, moaning in pain. "Get him a backboard," Casey ordered, "a beam came down on his back." Blood was pouring out of the side of Casey's face, his helmet askew. The last of them hurried down the ladder, rushing Kelly to the ambulance. Ambulance 99 had already taken the victims to Chicago Med, so 61 took Severide, Stella sat in the back, gripping his hand. Sylvie caught a glance of Matt, standing upright talking to Hermann, and she breathed a sigh of relief. They raced down the streets, rushing him into the ER, the doctors whisked him away to run tests and do X-rays, and Stella sat nervously in the waiting room, Sylvie and Emily by her side.

After a while, the rest of 51 showed up, still dirty from the fire. Casey had dried, matted blood all down the left side of his face. Sylvie rushes over to him, worried. "Someone needs to look at that," she insisted.

He responded gruffly, "I'm fine."

Putting a hand on her hip and raising her eyebrow she stated, "you know I'm not gonna give up that easily."

He sighed, "Fine. You can clean it up."

She grabbed some supplies and they walked to the family restroom down the hall. She dabbed at his wound and he winced, suddenly aware of a lot of stinging in his face. Examining it closer she noted, "there seems to be a lot of tiny cuts. Like glass maybe?"

Casey frowned, telling her, "the mirror."

"Oh, Casey. You really should be checked for fragments."

He waved it off. "Later. Once we see how Kelly is."

She continued to clean the wound until it looked presentable, luckily she didn't see any major issues of foreign materials in his face. As she turned to go, he grabbed her wrist, spinning her back towards him. Pushing her up against the wall, he covered her mouth with his, kissing her with an intense passion that left her breathless. He pulled away for a moment, placing his forehead against her's he said, "the roof just came down and the first thing I thought of was you." Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, he kissed her nose, then her cheek, then her neck and finally her mouth. "I thought, this can't be it. Not when life is finally so good," he whispered in her ear.

She smiled at him, wrapping her arms around his waist, she laid her head on his chest and they just held each other for a moment, thankful to be safe. Finally, they pulled apart, returning to the rest of the team. Mouch and Gallo were being checked out, but they hadn't been hit with rubble like Severide had. Joe was getting treated for a burn on his wrist, the rest of the team was sitting in the waiting room around Stella, whose knee was shaking nervously.

After what seemed like forever, Dr. Marcel emerged. "Is Kelly's family here?" He asked them.

"We're his family," Hermann responded, placing his hand on Stella's shoulder.

Dr. Marcel nodded and continued, "Kelly has a broken right leg, and various broken ribs, some lacerations on his back. But with some time he should recover nicely. There's no signs of any internal damage, but he's beat up pretty bad."

Firehouse 51 breathed a collective sigh of relief, and Stella jumped up, "Can I see him!?" She asked, and the Doctor nodded, leading her back to his room. The rest of the team took the rigs back to 51.

Upon arriving back at the firehouse, they entered the break room to see a stack of pizza boxes on the counter, a young woman was getting plates and utensils out of the cabinet.

"Hey 51! Hope your hungry!" Chloe said, smiling at them. As she turned, her growing belly was evident, and she had a special glow about her. Joe smiled, giving her a kiss, then one to her belly. Everyone lined up for pizza, and Sylvie approaches Chloe, smiling widely and giving her a quick hug.

"You look fantastic. How are you feeling?" Sylvie asked.

"Thanks, I'm good! Finally starting to get my energy back!"

"Oh yeah?" Sylvie asked, "what do you mean?"

"Well, the first trimester I was just so exhausted. I know everybody is different, but I just wanted to take a nap all the time. And had weird food aversions. Like peanut butter. I still cringe thinking about it," she laughed.

Sylvie laughed too. "Well, you look great, the second trimester is going to be good to you," she assured her friend.

Chloe said, "I guess I better enjoy it before I'm as big as a house!"

Sylvie insisted Chloe would still be as beautiful as ever. She watched as Chloe walked over to Joe, he wrapped his arms around her as she leaned her head on his shoulder. Sylvie smiled as she watched the couple, returning to sit with Emily.

Glancing at her buzzing phone, Sylvie saw a text from Stella: 'Need a girls night. My place."

Sylvie texted back a yes, excited to get some girl time. Not that she didn't enjoy her evenings with Casey, but when they worked together all day, then went home together, there wasn't much to talk about. She was sure to go home from Stella's tonight with some juicy gossip about Emily's love life, which always seemed to be in turmoil.

Sylvie heard music as she knocked on Stella and Kelly's apartment door. Casey had gone to the hospital to keep Severide company, who was already insisting he was fine and ready to go home. Stella flung the door open, Emily was already there, dancing with some wine in her hand. "Hey girl!" She called to Sylvie.

"How's Kelly doing?" Sylvie asked.

Stella gave her a big smile, "he's great, they say he'll be recovered in no time. He was super lucky." Sylvie nodded, patting her friend's hand gently, thankful things hadn't been worse. It was expected with the job, but it never got easier when one of their own was hurt.

Stella led her to the kitchen, pointing to the wine glasses and some snacks on the table. "Help yourself," she said, gesturing to a pot of spaghetti on the stove. "I'm no chef like Sylvie Brett, but I can still make your favorite, girl."

Sylvie was famished, and she lifted the lid of the pot, the aroma wafting out to her nose. But the smell of tomatoes made her nose wrinkle.

"What's wrong?" Stella asked, noting Brett's odd expression.

"I don't know. Is this a new type of sauce? It smells weird."

Stella shook her head. "Same recipe I use at the firehouse."

Confusion crossed over Sylvie's face. Why all of the sudden did the smell of spaghetti turn her stomach?

Holy crap.

"Oh, _shit_."

Stella and Emily's heads snapped up when they heard her swear. That was very unlike Sylvie. "What's wrong?" Emily asked, and they rushed over to her. The color had drained from her face, a look of alarm in her eyes.

"I don't want to eat this."

Stella laughed, "Its okay, Brett, you don't have too. I understand."

"No. You don't get it. I _LOVE_ your spaghetti, Stella. I don't _WANT_ to eat it."

Stella and Emily raised their eyebrows, unsure what point she was trying to get across.

"Are you sick?"

"No. Oh boy, um... food aversions, extra naps... oh boy." Sylvie sat down on the floor, her eyes wide, her breathing rapid, trying to do the math in her head. When was the last time she'd had a period?

The other women sat on the floor with her, worried about their friend. "What's going on, girl?" Stella asked.

Sylvie looked up at both of them, glancing from one to another she stuttered, "I... I think I could be pregnant."

Emily couldn't help it, her mouth dropped open slightly in surprise.

"What!?"

"I mean, I've been really tired, I just thought it was the work load but I... I can't remember when I last had a period, I mean I'm on birth control but sometimes I forget to take it."

"Like, forgot one day or forgot a week?"

Groaning, Sylvie said, "like forgot for days before Casey and I got together... once we started sleeping together... frequently, I took it almost every day?"

"Almost?"

Sylvie blushed, "I don't know. I... I just got caught up in work and being with him..." tears were forming in her eyes, and Stella wrapped her arm around her.

"Shh, it's okay. Em, you run down to the pharmacy at the end of the block and get a pregnancy test, we'll figure this out."

While Emily was gone, Stella assured Sylvie, "Its going to be okay, Casey is a great guy. He'll stand by you."

"But things are so good... and still so new. I don't want to freak him out."

"Hun, I don't think you have to worry about Casey running. He is the best guy I know."

A little bit later, they were waiting in the bathroom, the test on the sink processing. Sylvie was pacing back and forth, chewing her fingernails.

"Time's up," Emily said, looking up from her watch.

"I can't look," Sylvie said. "Stella?"

Stella walked over, glancing at the test.

"Holy _shit_."


	16. Chapter 16

_A/N: Happy Wednesday! Hopefully this helps you get through a week with no new episode. Thanks for all the positive feedback!_

"Man, I need to talk to you."

Severide hobbled into Casey's office with his crutches, shutting the door behind him.

"What are you doing here? You're off for four weeks." Severide had only been out of the hospital a few days, and he was going crazy sitting around doing nothing. He'd even been over to OFI filing paperwork just for something to do, but he'd gotten so adamant about them reopening some of the old cases he'd been reading that they'd banned him from coming back.

"Man, I am losing my mind. So I thought I'd clean up, ya know, surprise Stella. So I'm emptying the trash in the bathroom and I find this," Kelly pulled a bag out of his pocket, thrusting it at Casey.

It was a pregnancy test, a "+" sign visible in the small window.

"Okay, that is gross."

"Casey, do you know what this means!? Stella is pregnant! Shit, I can't be a dad!"

Oh wow. "Now, take a deep breath, it's going to be okay," Casey assured him. "Have you said anything to Stella yet?"

"Are you crazy!? No!"

"Well what do you want to do?"

"I don't know! You're the logical one. Tell me what to do!"

Casey glanced at the test. "Well, I guess she didn't tell you for a reason. Maybe you should wait until she's ready?"

Severide was nodding, thinking about the situation. "Yeah. Yeah, maybe this is good. Then I won't be blindsided. Yeah. That's good. Can you keep an eye on her for me around here?"

"Sure thing."

"Alright, thanks man. I'd better go, before Stella sees me and I get in trouble for not resting." He turned, exiting through the doorway.

Casey called after him, "hey Severide... Congrats."

Kelly smiled awkwardly, his face still had a deer in the headlights look, and Casey chuckled as he hobbled away. Man, that was definitely a shock to the system. He wished he could talk about it with Sylvie, ask if she knew, but it would no doubtly get back to Stella, and Casey didn't want to cause any more drama. The alarms went off, and he raced to the rig, headed out to an industrial fire.

When they arrived, No one was inside, so they started pulling out hoses.

"Gallo, help Stella," Casey ordered, and Stella shot him a confused look. She might not be ready to talk about her pregnancy, but he was going to do his best to keep her out of harm, no matter her decision.

The fire was put out quickly, the neighbors were extremely grateful the CFD had prevented any other buildings from being damaged. A woman brought some waters and Casey grabbed two, taking one to Stella.

"Um, thanks?"

"Yeah, make sure you stay hydrated," he instructed, walking over to the ambulance. Sylvie and Emily were checking some neighbors who were complaining of difficulty breathing, but no one had been in the building, so nothing was critical.

"Hey," he smiled at Sylvie, "everyone okay?"

"Yeah, this gentleman has asthma, we just wanted to check his stats and it all looks good," she said, patting the man's back gently. He smiled gratefully and thanked her, then returned to his home.

"Hey, do you think maybe you could check Stella out? Just as a precaution?"

Sylvie's brow wrinkled in confusion. "Why, we barely had to do anything here?"

"Yeah, I'm just worried about her. You know she's got a lot going on at home, with Severide's injury and... stuff."

"Um, okay? I guess?"

Casey watched her walk over to Stella, talking to the woman, who he could see was rolling her eyes at Sylvie's words. Stella glanced over to him, her face angry. Oh well. Let her be mad at him. He'd told Severide he'd look after her, and he was determined to do so. He'd want nothing less from Kelly if the roles were reversed.

Meanwhile, Sylvie was still talking to Stella. "Just come sit in the Ambo for five minutes and pretend I'm checking your stats to appease him."

"What the hell is he doing? He didn't even give me this much grief when I was the one who got injured! If this is because he thinks I'm some emotional woman I'll show him-"

"Stella! Calm down! He's just worried about you. It's cute, really."

"Yeah, for you." She groaned, following Sylvie to the Ambo. "If everyone is going to walk on eggshells around me, I'm gonna get grumpy real fast," Stella admitted. "Do you know how hard I had to work to finally get some respect as a woman on this job?!"

Sylvie patted her knee sympathetically, putting a cuff around Stella's arm. After a few moments she said, "well, your blood pressure is a little high-"

"Because I'm pissed!"

Sylvie held up her hands defensively, a look of amusement on her face. "I'll tell him you have a clean bill of health," she said with a smile.

Suddenly serious, Stella asked, "when are you going to tell him your other news?"

Brett sighed, putting away the equipment. "I want to wait a bit."

"Girl, it's been a week."

"Yeah, but I made an appointment at Med tomorrow, I just want to see what they have to say first."

Stella sighed, "alright, it's your business. But I think the sooner the better."

The next day was their day off. Sylvie was trying to think of a good excuse for why she needed to leave at ten. Spin class? Then she'd have to take her gym gear. Grocery shopping? She'd have to actually come back with a good amount of groceries if she was gone for two hours. Lunch with a friend? She'd better get them in on her story in case Casey saw them around.

She emerged from the bedroom, unsure what she was going to come up with. But luckily she didn't have to. He was hurriedly putting some tools in a bag, smiling when she walked in he said, "hey, I just got a call from a client with a water leak, I hope it's okay I'll be gone most of the morning."

She tried not to seem too excited, but nodded, wishing him a good day.

She nervously dabbled around the apartment all morning, not really accomplishing anything. She just couldn't focus, coming up with one thousand and one scenarios of how to tell Casey. Finally it was ten, so she headed off to Chicago Med.

Sitting alone in the exam room, her hand nervously shaking, Sylvie thought she should've asked someone to come with her. She wasn't sure what to expect during this appointment, but it would've been nice to talk it through with someone while she waited.

Finally, the doctor entered. Sylvie was used to being in the ER, she wasn't usually on the obstetrics floor, so she hadn't met Doctor Fisher before. She was late 30s, short brown hair, and rimmed glasses, a kind smile pulled up the corners of her lips.

"Hi, Sylvie, I'm Dr. Fisher. You can call me Olivia if you'd like. So it says here you came in to confirm a pregnancy?"

"Um, yes. I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant, I took a test, but I'm not sure what to do next."

The woman smiled, sensing Sylvie's anxiousness.

"Is this your first pregnancy?" She asked gently.

Sylvie nodded, "Is it that obvious?"

Olivia chuckled knowingly. "I see a lot of first time moms. It's super common to be a little overwhelmed, maybe even frightened. You need to have a lot of grace for yourself as you figure out the process and what works best for you," she patted Sylvie's knee, then took another look at the chart in her lap. "Well, the sample you gave the nurse confirms you are definitely pregnant! Do you know when the first day of your last period was?"

"No... I don't keep track. That's probably really stupid..."

"No, that's totally fine! We can make an estimate based on your hCG levels, which is a hormone you produce when pregnant..." she noted Sylvie's chart, telling her, "your levels are pretty high. Consistent with anywhere from eight to ten weeks? That's far enough along we can do an ultrasound to measure more exactly if you want?"

Ten weeks. Ten weeks. That was already a quarter of the way through a pregnancy... and that means it happened right when her and Casey got together. The doctor could see the alarm in Sylvie's face, and asked, "Do you mind if I ask, was this a planned pregnancy?"

Sylvie just shook her head no.

"Alright, hun. Does the man you had sex with know?"

Father. The baby's father. Not just some random man. Casey was going to be a father, of her baby. Sylvie burst into tears, wishing she hadn't tried to do this alone.

Olivia put a comforting arm around Sylvie'a shoulder. "It's okay. He's not hurting you, is he?"

Sylvie straightened up, wiping her tears, "oh no, it's not like that. I just wish I wouldn't have come alone. I didn't tell him because I wanted to be sure, and we haven't been together that long," she sniffles.

"Well, if you'd like to hear options for terminating-"

"No, I definitely want this baby."

"Okay, well I'll get an ultrasound tech down here. Meanwhile, let me write you a prescription for prenatal vitamins and go over some information with you."

The doctor started talking Sylvie through some information, handing her pamphlets and papers. There was a light knock and the ultrasound tech entered, introducing herself to Sylvie and turning on the equipment.

Dr. Fisher stood next to Sylvie holding her hand and explaining what was going on.

"So the first ultrasound is internal, the baby is most likely still too small to get good detail on an external ultrasound," she explained to Sylvie. After a bit, an image appeared on the screen, and in the midst of the black, there was a tiny white blob.

"That's your baby!" The tech said, smiling widely at her. "I'm going to take some measurements to estimate a gestational age."

After some more time, the tech printed some pictures from the machine. "I'm going to estimate you're 9 weeks and 2 days pregnant. That puts your due date at February 7th."

Sylvie had no words. She stared in awe at the pictures. How had this little life been with her for nine weeks without her knowing?

"Doctor? What about... I didn't know I was pregnant. I've been drinking alcohol and taking birth control..."

"Your baby should be fine. Obviously you need to stop those things, but only extreme excess would cause harm in that short amount of time," she reassured Sylvie.

Brett breathed a sigh of relief, thanking the doctor and technician. She headed out of the hospital in a bit of a haze, gripping the folder in her hands. It was all suddenly so real. She was having a baby. With Casey.

How was she going to tell him?


	17. Chapter 17

_A/N: Thanks for all the positive feedback, love reading your reviews and your thoughts and opinions! Warning: you're in for another cliffhanger... but this is a huge turning point in the story!_

Sylvie sat at the kitchen island, staring at the ultrasound picture. Should she just go for it? Drop the bomb? Or should she lead up to it with something special?

"Hey Matt, how was your day? By the way, you're an expectant father," she said out loud to the empty room. No, that seemed so abrupt. A little cold. Maybe she should talk more about her emotions.

"Hey Matt, these past few months together have been so special... no that's dumb." She sighed in frustration. What even were they? She had never used the term boyfriend to describe him to anyone. Hell, the firehouse was still clueless about their relationship, all except Severide, Kidd and Foster. But what if this was just a friends with benefits thing? She knew Matt would love and care for this baby, his reputation was nothing if not honorable. But what about her? He didn't owe her anything. She had been the one who had suggested at one point they just be friends with benefits. What if that was all it was for him?

The hours ticked away as she waited for him to return. Maybe she should text him? It was getting close to dinner when he came bustling through the door.

"Hey, sorry that took longer then expected, I ended up stopping at another job and time got away from me," he hurried back to his room calling over his shoulder, "I told Severide we'd try to meet them at Molly's tonight, he says he needs some socialization." Casey was in his room calling out to her about his day, and she slipped the ultrasound pictures into the back of a kitchen drawer. She'd tell him later.

They arrived at Molly's, Casey's arm was slipped around her waist as they walked to the door, but he stepped away when they entered, putting appropriate distance between 'just friends.' If only he knew how far past friends they were.

Stella was behind the bar working, flirting with Kelly who sat at the counter. He was happy to be out of the house, many people in the bar were checking up on him and wishing him well.

"Hey guys!" Stella greeted them. She gave Sylvie a raised eyebrow and pointed 'did you tell him' look, and Sylvie shook her head ever so slightly. Casey greeted Severide, clapping him on the back.

"Hey man, let me buy you a drink," he said, holding cash out to Stella.

"No no no. He is not drinking while on medication," Stella ordered.

"I haven't taken any meds since breakfast," Kelly argued.

But Stella snatched the money out of Casey's hand and said, "you can buy me a drink for having to put up with this guy," she said, but her tone was light hearted. Stella poured shots for herself and Casey, slinging it back with a triumphant smile on her face.

Brett rolled her eyes and looked at Casey and Severide, whose mouths were agape, a look of disgust on their faces.

"C'mon guys, she deserves at least one drink!"

"But... Stella, do you think that's a good idea!?" Kelly looked ready to fall apart.

Confusion crossed over her face. "It was one drink. I know I'm working, but Hermann doesn't care if we have a drink here and there. Then we get more tips."

"But Stella, you should be taking better care of yourself," Kelly objected.

"Guys, it's not a big deal..." Sylvie began.

Casey put a hand on Kelly's shoulder. "Maybe you should stay sober tonight, Kidd. You know you have somebody else to think of." He was hoping she'd think of her baby when he said that, everyone else would think he was talking about Kelly.

"Are you serious? I never get drunk when I'm working. It was one shot, chill."

The atmosphere was getting tense, so Sylvie jumped in.

"Can I get a mojito?" She said, trying to change the subject. When Stella looked over at her questioningly, she mouthed, 'virgin.' So it was basically a soda. Stella walked away and made her drink, returning and handing it to her with a wink.

Sylvie sipped her drink, the conversation had shifted to filling Severide in on some of their most recent calls. Casey was being so protective of Stella just because she was dealing with some stress in her life. Wait till he found out her secret.

When they finally walked back in their apartment door that evening, Sylvie was trying to build up her courage. But she had barely put her things down before he swept her up into his arms.

"I missed you today," he whispered, smiling sweetly at her. "How was your day?"

"Um, pretty uneventful." She was purposely vague.

"Well, I can promise you, I wished I'd been here instead." His lips brushed hers lightly, his hands running down her back. Sylvie leaned into him, relishing his closeness. Maybe just one more night of pure bliss before she dropped the ball. What was one more day?

She pulled up on the hem of his shirt, helping him slip it off, running her hands along his bare chest that was becoming so familiar. She took his hand, leading him back to the bedroom, determined to spend one more uncomplicated night with him. Laying down on the bed, she kissed him hard and passionately, wondering if it'd be the last time for them.

Later that night, she lay awake next to him in bed. His breathing was steady as he slept, but Sylvie was wide awake, running her hand over her still flat belly. She couldn't keep that a secret forever for sure. He'd notice her belly growing. Tears started to fall down her face as she wondered if he'd be mad she hadn't told him first. She regretted that. Now there would be a distrust between them, and she feared it'd be a rift in their relationship. She wiped at her eyes and sighed, wishing she'd done so many things differently.

Casey stirred beside her, his arm tightening around her waist. He turned his face to her, smiling, but his smile quickly turned to concern when he saw she was crying.

"What's wrong?" He asked, stroking her arm gently.

"Nothing," she sniffed, "I'm just really happy."

He beamed at her, "me too."

Her brain was screaming 'TELL HIM NOW' but she just kissed his lips. He could tell there was something else going on, but he didn't know if it was his place to push her. So he just held her, rubbing her back until she fell asleep.

At the firehouse the next day, Stella was hounding her about telling Casey.

"You need to tell him so he gets off _MY_ back," she whispered fiercely. They were huddled together at a table in the break room.

"Hun, you know he's going to support you. Maybe be a little shocked, but he's a great guy," Emily said. "What are you so afraid of?"

Sylvie shrugged, "I guess I'm just worried this will change things. Make our relationship more complicated. I don't know, it's just so good right now. I don't want the focus to go from growing our relationship to everything being about this baby."

"You can have _both_," Stella argued, as Sylvie glanced across the room to Casey. Could she?

Casey looked over to where the women were close together whispering about something. Probably Stella's pregnancy. When was she going to tell Boden? She shouldn't be in the field in her condition. But he knew Stella was stubborn, she was unlikely to listen to his reason. Maybe he should talk to Sylvie, see if she'd sit down with Stella.

Sylvie was walking to the bunk room when Casey called out from his office, "Brett, you got a minute?" She joined him and he shut the door behind her. He smiled warmly at her, "First of all, you look beautiful as always."

She blushed, rolling her eyes at him. "What do you want!?" She asked playfully. He glanced out into the hallway through the glass in the door to make sure no one could see them, then quickly drew her to him, kissing her. "Second there's that," he smiled, their foreheads were together, their noses touching.

"And third?" She asked.

"Third. Right." He straighten up, motioning for her to sit. "I think you need to sit down and have a talk with Stella."

Sylvie frowned, "why?"

"Well, you know... Her _condition_. She shouldn't be working herself so hard."

She rolled her eyes, "this again? Matt, she's fine. If you should be worried about anybody's mental health, you should check up on Kelly."

"What?" What was she talking about?

The alarm went off, and he cursed the timing. Oh well, maybe they could talk about it tonight when they got home.

The call was for a vehicle accident, A tractor trailer had t-boned an SUV, flipping it upside down. The family of four inside the car were trapped, and it took the jaws to finally pry them out of the wreckage. The parents in the front were in the worst shape, the two children in the back had been largely protected by their car seats. Gallo unclipped the little boy, who clung to him fearfully, while Casey got a baby girl out of the other side who was screaming the whole time he was trying to free her.

Casey shushed the baby, gently patting her as he walked over to Sylvie at the ambulance. She was frozen in place, watching him with the child, thinking of their baby.

"Sylvie?"

"Oh! What?"

He gave her an odd look. "I just said, the baby and child don't appear to have any injuries. Ambo 99 just got here, do you want to take the kids or the parents?"

"The baby." She blurted out, her eyes not leaving the poor child, who was still sniffling. Casey handed her to Sylvie, and she cradled the baby, her heart melted as the little girl gripped her finger, sending a wave of emotion through her. The baby was around 6 months old, and she smiled at Sylvie, who started talking to her, "You're okay, kiddo, everything will be alright." She didn't know who needed to hear that more, her or the baby.

Casey watched the exchange, his heart feeling full. Someday, Brett would be a great mom. Maybe even with him. The thought made his heart swell more, and he walked away, thinking about how Sylvie would probably be a great help to Stella in a few months. Speaking of Stella, he looked around to see where she was. She was about to help carry the mother over to the Ambo on a back board, but Casey jogged over, nudging her out of the way. "I got it," he said, lifting the board. He could feel the daggers from Stella's eyes piercing his back, but he ignored it.

When they finally got back to the firehouse, their shift was all but over, so they cleaned their gear and showered, heading home. It was starting to rain, and the air was cool and damp.

"I am _STARVING_," Sylvie groaned, following him in the door, shivering from the rain that had absorbed into her clothes.

"I'll make some homemade soup," he said with a smile, and she went to change into more comfortable clothes. She was excited to have a night in with him. Maybe with this dinner she could give a nice, romantic speech about how much she appreciated him and finally tell him. Explain that they could continue dating and get to know each other. She had to stress that they're relationship was still growing, and she wanted to make that a priority. He'd understand.

Returning to the living room she said, "you know, with our day off tomorrow we should stop at Med and check on that family."

He didn't respond. She walked into the kitchen to see him standing at the counter, the drawer below him was wide open and his face was white as a sheet, staring at something in his hands.

The ultrasound pictures.


	18. Chapter 18

"Oh." She said, seeing him gripping the images of their baby. Well this was one way to start the conversation.

"These have your name on them..." he said slowly, holding out the pictures.

She sighed. "Yeah, they do."

"So that means... you're pregnant?"

She nodded, smiling nervously at him.

"And I'm..." he looked at her for confirmation.

"The father." She said, matter of factly. "I just found out, and I've been wanting the right moment to tell you, I just wanted to make it this special thing but... here we are."

His face still looked like he'd seen a ghost. "How far along are you?"

"Nine weeks."

The shock finally hit him, and he sank to the floor. "Nine weeks!? But we've only been together for..." he was trying to do the math in his head.

"Probably about that much time."

He was quiet for a bit, and she nervously sat on the floor next to him. "So... tell me what you're thinking?"

"Um, well I mean this is a bit of a surprise..." he gave her a small awkward smile, "but I'm actually a little excited. I've always wanted to be a dad, I just didn't think it'd be so soon," he paused for a moment, then looked at her with a serious expression. "You are planning on keeping it, right?"

She nodded, relief washing over her. They were over the first hurdle.

"So where does that leave our relationship?" She questioned, hoping for the best.

"I mean, I'd like to continue what we have going, if you're up for that."

She nodded eagerly, "Yeah, I'd like to continue it too." All the scenarios she'd played out in her head of how this could go, she'd never imagined it'd be so perfect. He put his arm around her and she put her head on his shoulder, still sitting on the floor of their kitchen. "So I guess this makes you my boyfriend?"

He laughed, "Definitely."

She smiled up at him, kissing his lips.

"So are you and Stella due around the same time?" He questioned.

"What!?"

In another part of Chicago, Stella was getting home after shift, excited to spend the rest of her evening relaxing on the couch with Kelly. She unlocked the door, tossing her stuff on the floor she gave him a quick "hello" and walked over to the fridge, grabbing a beer and flopping on the couch next to him.

"Is that for me?" He asked, motioning to the beer.

"Um, nooo. I had an exhausting shift. And you are still on pain meds."

He sat up, snatching the beer from her.

"Hey!"

"This is not okay, Stella. I don't know if you're doing this to throw me off or what, but I know you're little secret."

"Secret? What secret?"

"I know about the baby."

Brett's baby? What was he talking about? "How did you find out?"

He put his head in his hands. "So it's true!? I found the test in the trash."

Oh. "How did you know it was Brett's?"

"What?"

"How did you know Brett was the one pregnant?"

She looked at his face, full of confusion, and it registered with her. "Shit, you thought it was ME!?"

"Sylvie is the one whose pregnant?"

"Um, YES. Definitely not ME. You thought it was me this whole time!?"

Things were finally starting to click in her head. That explained his weird behavior recently. And Casey...

"Did you tell Casey I was pregnant?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I went to him for advice."

Stella started to laugh. A deep in the belly laugh, that once she got started she couldn't stop. "So... that's why he... ha, this whole time... oh man this is good." She continued laughing as Kelly sat there, disbelief on his face.

"So you're not pregnant, but Brett is... which means Casey..." the irony of the situation registered with Severide and he started laughing along with Stella, realizing how screwed up they'd gotten the story. Casey was going to be a dad, not him. He wanted that some day, but definitely not right now.

"So Casey doesn't know?!" He asked Stella incredulously.

"Nope."

Back at Casey and Brett's, they were trying to sort out the same story.

"So Kelly thought Stella was pregnant," Sylvie clarified, cracking a smile.

"Yeah, man, we really got that twisted."

"Yeah," she giggled.

He finally stood up, pulling her with him. "From now on, no more secrets, okay? Please let me know what's going on. I can take it."

She nodded, and he pulled her closer, running his hand down her cheek. Cupping her face, he brought her lips to his, kissing her tenderly. Pulling back for a second he questioned, "So if you're pregnant is it still okay to..." he motioned towards the bedroom, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

She swatted at his shoulder playfully, "Yes, Matthew. I'm not even fat yet."

"Just making sure," with all seriousness he added, "no matter how big you get, you'll still be beautiful."

He lead her to his room, laying her down on the bed he pulled his shirt over his head. "You know, you'll have to move in here permanently so we can make that second room a nursery, he pointed out as he pulled up her shirt, exposing her bare belly. Running his hands down her abdomen, he thought back to early that day when she'd been holding that baby at the accident scene. Wishes came true pretty fast. He kissed her belly, pulling her shirt up over her head, kissing up her body as he did so.

"So you're not mad?" She whispered.

"No! Not at all. I feel pretty stupid though," he admitted.

"What? Why?"

"I mean, I should've been more responsible, this is my fault, really."

She huffed, "pretty sure it was a mutual decision. Besides, I told you I was on birth control but not regularly."

"Yeah, I should've had a back up," he admitted.

"Well, too late now," she pointed out.

He smiled, laughing a little. "Yeah, I guess so."

He kissed her belly again, then down to her hip, sliding her pants down her legs. Rolling over, he pulled her on top of him. Looking up into her face he whispered, "I'm going to be a dad."

She brought her face down to his, her hair tickling his chest. "I'm going to be a mom."

"I'm a little nervous," he admitted.

"Me too." She slipped out of the rest of her clothes, leaning back a little she joked, "better imprint this image in your brain, cause it's all downhill from here."

He shook his head. "No way. You'll still be sexy as ever."

She rolled her eyes, "mhmm. Right."

"I'll just have to show you," he said with a smirk, pulling her body to his.

Sylvie woke up the next morning late, stretching in bed. Pulling on Casey's shirt, she walked out to the kitchen. He was sitting at the counter, just staring into a full cup of coffee.

"Casey?"

He looked up, giving her a strained smile. "Hey."

"You okay?"

He sighed, but smiled gently at her, "Yeah, I'm just thinking."

She nodded nervously, sitting next to him. "Good thoughts I hope?"

"Yeah... just trying to figure out our next steps I guess."

The situation had finally hit him when he woke up in the morning. A baby. This was going to be a huge life changer. Baby's needed food and diapers and day care. Unless Sylvie wanted to stay home. Did she? Then he'd have to work more. He could pick up more contracting jobs. Maybe work more weekends.

She snuggled up next to him, wrapping her arms around his bare abdomen. "I like your use of plural pronouns," she laughed awkwardly.

He gave her a small smile, taking her hand. " I'm in this with you, Sylvie. I want to support you the whole way. I'm just as responsible for this."

She nodded. Was he just acting this way because he felt responsible? Was there any love in his heart? Or just duty? She felt like she should define that more clearly.

"So, did you still want to visit the family from yesterday's car accident?" Casey was saying.

"Oh. Yeah, sure." She responded, still questioning his intentions for their relationship. Did he only want to continue it out of obligation? She hated the fact that she was letting these thoughts invade her brain, but the truth was that she had major people in her life leave her. Her birth mother. Gabby moving to Puerto Rico. Kyle had broken up with her first before proposing. But that wasn't right either. She had thought it was, but it turned out they wanted different things. What if Casey was next?

Her thoughts were spinning as they walked into the hospital. Casey noticed she was unusually quiet, but thought she was just nervous to see the family. They visited the mother's hospital room, where the little boy sat with her on the bed, the baby asleep in a bassinet in a corner.

"Hello, I'm Captain Casey from the Chicago Fire Department, this is Paramedic Sylvie Brett. We were at your accident yesterday and just wanted to check in. How's your family?"

"Oh goodness, thank you! My husband had surgery but they say he should recover quickly. I'm all banged up, but thank goodness the kids are okay! Thank you so much for taking care of them!"

Casey smiled, "That was all Sylvie, she has a way with kids."

Sylvie laughed nervously, "Casey has a knack himself. We're just so glad to see you're all doing well."

"Oh thank you, seriously, we are so grateful for Chicago's first responders. You guys saved our lives!"

They chatted a bit more, than left, heading home. Sylvie was still quiet, unsure how to start the next big conversation. She was afraid to express her feelings, because what if she ruined things? She didn't want to be hurt again. Or raise her baby alone. She was so confused and exhausted, when they got back home she laid down for a nap.

Late afternoon Casey peeked into his room where Sylvie was curled in bed. Whispering her name, she stirred, turning towards him.

"Sylvie? I think we should tell Boden tomorrow."

"I don't know..."

"We're going to have to tell him now. You can't be doing the things you do, it's dangerous."

"Now, hold on. Matt, I don't want to quit my job! Not yet at least! My doctor said I can still work at the same pace until 20 weeks, then I have to be careful with lifting and overdoing it. But I'm not ready to quit now."

"I'm not saying you have to quit, I'm saying you need to back off your work load a bit. Maybe you could work an administrative job for the time being."

Tears started to well up in her eyes. "Matt, this is my career. I'm going to decide how I want to do things, not you!"

"It's my baby too-" he started to say, but she cut him off.

"YOU don't have to put your career on hold! You're not the one who has to tell her conservative parents that your having a baby with a guy you've been maybe dating for two months! You don't have to deal with any judgement or criticism. You have no idea the double standard for this for men and women. I'm the one who has to deal with the negative consequences."

"I... I'm sorry I just-"

"No. Stop. I don't want to tell Boden yet. Please."

Casey sighed, "Sylvie, you at least have to be on light duty. No extreme lifting or dangerous situations. We have to tell him."

"Please, can't it wait? A few more weeks?" She begged, the tears rolling down her face. What was she going to do if she couldn't work? She had literally broken an engagement for this job. But was she willing to risk her baby's life?

Casey shook his head no. "I can probably talk him into letting you still ride on 61 until you're further along. But probably not as P.I.C.," he said quietly. "You'll have to hand the job over to Foster."

She sighed. She knew he was right. But she hated that her life got disrupted, while his didn't change a bit. It wasn't fair.

"Fine, I'll tell him tomorrow. But I want to do it alone," she demanded.


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N: Hey y'all, sorry for the delay in updating. Crazy times the world is in now! Amidst this I'm also moving so I've been busy lately. I'll try to update more frequently to get you through quarantine! Stay safe and stay healthy_!

Sylvie stood in front of Chief Boden's office door. With a sigh, she knocked lightly, hearing him say loudly "come in" she entered, her stomach in knots.

"Brett? What can I do for you?"

She took a deep breath, "do you mind if we sit? I feel like I should sit." Sylvie felt a little dizzy, the combination of morning sickness and what she had to do was making her light headed.

Concerned, Wallace Boden motioned to a chair, sitting beside her. "Are you alright?" He could see something was weighing heavily on his paramedic's mind, and he wanted to do his best to help in any way he could. His firefighters and paramedics were his family, he felt responsible for them and cared deeply about their lives. He had a soft spot for the women on his team, all of them almost felt like daughters, and he knew being a woman in this field wasn't easy.

"Chief, I have to tell you something. It might change my status here but I've made up my mind that it's a sacrifice I have to make and I'm hoping we can figure something out that I can continue at 51 in some capacity."

Confusion crossed over his face. "Are you hurt? Sick?" Maybe she was dealing with chronic illness?

"Only in the morning," she said with a small, unsure smile.

"Ah, I see," Boden responded knowingly.

"Yeah... I'm not really sure what I'm going to do," Sylvie said quietly.

"We'll figure it out, together. This firehouse is a family, Sylvie. We can all help you, and this little blessing," he said, smiling kindly at her. "I'll get together an alternate schedule for you in the upcoming weeks. Do you have a note from your doctor by any chance?"

Sylvie pulled it out of her bag, "Lifting restrictions at 20 weeks. But until then they said I can still do my job, just have to take certain precautions."

"Like stepping down as paramedic in charge," Boden pointed out, taking the note he said, " I'll pass this on to HR."

Sylvie smiled sadly, "I think Foster is completely capable of being PIC."

Boden nodded. "How far along are you now?"

"Nine weeks."

"You should really be on desk duty..."

"Please, Chief. Can I stick it out a bit longer? My doctor said it shouldn't be a problem, as long as I stick with the Ambo. Which we usually do, anyway."

Boden thought for a second. "I'll review it with Captain Casey, see what his view is."

Sylvie nodded. "Thanks for the consideration, Chief." She stood, heading for the door.

"Brett? Can I ask how you got into this situation?"

"Um... it was just a mistake. You know," she shrugged. Something was stopping her from telling him the whole story. She wasn't ready for her life with Casey to be known. Part of her liked her privacy, and she didn't want to be the headline of the firehouse gossip column. Not yet, anyway. "Can we keep it between us for a while?"

"Well I'd like to discuss it with Captain Casey. Probably Severide and Herrmann as Lieutenants."

"Kidd and Foster know," she said sheepishly.

He nodded, "we'll try to keep it to that group, for now."

"Thanks, Chief."

Sylvie walked out the door and Boden called after her, "Brett?"

Peaking her head back in the door, he stated, "Ginger snaps."

"What?" She looked at him oddly.

"Ginger snaps. Donna used to eat them to help with morning sickness. Something about the ginger."

Sylvie laughed, "Ill keep that in mind, thanks Chief." She headed towards the break room, but was suddenly tugged into the supply closet, Stella gripping her arm, Emily waiting anxiously.

"Geez, Kidd. You should just label this room your office," Sylvie grumbled, "why can't we talk at the table or something like normal people?"

"Do you really want everyone to hear what we have to discuss?" Stella pointed out, Foster nodding in agreement.

"What do we have to discuss?"

"You were in Chief's office for a while! Spill! Did you tell him?"

"Yeah. And Casey knows. He found the ultrasound pictures."

"What?! Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Emily demanded.

"It was yesterday, guys I'm still trying to figure this all out."

"Was he excited?"

Sylvie shrugged, "I think so. But he's already being over protective. I'm not sure I like him all the sudden wanting to make all MY decisions."

"Cmon, you know when Casey sets his mind to something he's determined," Stella pointed out.

Sylvie sighed, "I'm just not ready for things to change so fast. I don't want to be treated differently. I'm still me."

"You're growing a human, Brett. That's pretty significant."

"Yeah. But I'm still me. And I don't like too much attention. I want people to focus on their jobs, not worrying about me."

Stella held up her hands in surrender. "Okay, boss. I should tell you though, I had to tell Kelly. He found the pregnancy test and thought it was me," Stella laughed, "you should've seen how white his face got." The girls giggled as Stella told them the story.

"Let's just say he was relieved when I told him he's not gonna be a daddy for a long time," Stella laughed. Turning to Brett she asked, "What did Boden say about Casey?"

Sylvie looked at the floor, biting her lip. "I didn't tell him it was Casey's..."

Meanwhile, Chief Boden had called Casey into his office.

"Need to update you on some personnel changes. Apparently our paramedic in charge is pregnant."

Casey was silent. Why was Boden acting like Matt didn't know? Wallace mistook Casey's silence for surprise and continued, "I know, it's a shock. Brett said it was a mistake, must've been a one night stand or something."

More silence from Casey, this time actual shock. Sylvie has left out part of the story. A big part. Why? He thought things were good with them. They had a lot to figure out, but they were going to do it together. At least that was his plan.

"So," Boden continued, "I'd like your input. Let Sylvie stick it out on 61 until her doctor's note takes affect at 20 weeks, or put her on desk duty now?"

"Well, I think we should respect what she wants, Chief. But we've got to put her safety first. I'd like to say desk duty but I don't think that'll sit well with her."

Boden nodded. "She suggested light duty. In an emergency situation, Foster goes in. Sylvie stays with the Ambo."

"Yeah, I think it could work. But not after 20 weeks. Then she goes to a desk."

"Agreed. I'll talk to Foster, make sure she's okay with the changes. Brett said she told her and Kidd. We'll count on them to keep an extra eye out. I want you to fill in the Lieutenants too, make sure all team leaders are aware of the situation."

Casey nodded in agreement. "Will do, Chief."

Casey turned to go, but before he was out the door Boden asked, "Do you know who the guy is?"

Casey turned. This was his opportunity to be honest. But for some reason, Sylvie had held back the truth, and Casey needed to figure out why before he spilled the beans.

"I'm not sure, Chief," he lied.

"Well, I'm glad you two are roommates, you can keep an extra eye on her."

Casey nodded, unable to meet Boden's gaze. "I'll speak to the Lieutenants."

Boden thanked him and Casey left, headed for Severide's quarters.

Entering his friend's office, Casey closed the door behind him. Kelly glanced up, and Casey jumped into his story. "It's not you who's gonna be a dad, it's me, and Sylvie just told Boden but left the whole me being the father thing out and Boden says I'm supposed to tell you so this is me, telling you. Why the hell did she leave that part out?"

Severide's eyes were wide, "Wow. That was a lot of information."

Casey sighed, raking his hand through his hair. "How did this get so screwed up?"

"Man, it'll work out. You just gotta be patient."

"Why doesn't she want Boden to know about me? Do you think she's ashamed?"

Severide shrugged, "I don't know. But you should probably talk to her."

"Ya think?" Casey scoffed. "I'm headed to fill Hermann in."

"On the whole truth?" Severide asked.

"I guess not," Matt responded quietly, leaving the room.

Sylvie was in the break room a little while later, when Hermann entered. Seeing her he walked over, patting her gently on the back he said, "We're here for ya, Brett."

She smiled weakly, "Thanks Hermann," and he walked over to the kitchen.

Turning to the girls she pointed at Hermann. "That. That is what I don't want."

"He cares, Sylvie. We all do," Foster insisted.

Brett was quiet. She was so confused. And embarrassed. This wasn't anything like she planned her life going. But now that she had this baby, she didn't know what she wanted. And she was afraid of having to do it alone. What if the pressures of outing their relationship to the public strained it? What if Casey didn't want what she did? And what if he did?

The alarm went off, and Sylvie jumped up, for once relieved to have a call. Something else to focus her thoughts on.


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N: Hello wonderful readers! I'm going to try to update more frequently, I know many of you probably need some things to look forward to right now, so I'll keep writing in whatever free time I have! Any ideas for other Chicago stories - private message me if you want to read a story about other couples or shows! Love reading your reviews, keep them coming!_

They rushed to the scene of a car accident, a motorcyclist cutting in between lines of traffic had caused a massive accident when he'd hit a turning car. The bike was lodged in the grill of a pick up, having ricocheted off a blue sedan. The pick up driver had a bloody nose from the air bag, but seemed otherwise unharmed. The sedan driver, however, had a smashed in driver's side door that was preventing him from being able to exit his vehicle. When he was finally free, Sylvie and Foster assessed his broken legs, rushing him to Med. The motorcycle driver somehow had walked away, and P.D. was looking for him. As they exited the hospital and headed back to their rig, Foster commented, "this world is so unfair sometimes."

"Tell me about it."

Returning to 51, Sylvie sighed as she climbed out of the rig, headed to the bunk room to lay down for a bit. She had a splitting headache.

"Brett? Can I talk to you?" Called Casey's voice from his quarters.

Oh, great. "Um, actually I have to inventory the ambulance so-" she began, spinning on her heel to walk away from him.

"Now, Brett." He said sternly. Then in a quieter voice, "please don't make me order you."

She glanced around, noting the few people in the bunk room where watching the exchange, confusion on their faces. Stella looked wide eyed, her mouth slightly open in surprise. Cruz and Tony continued walking past Sylvie, looking over their shoulders oddly at Casey as they passed her.

She slowly walked into his office, her eyes on the floor, and he pushed the door closed behind her.

"What the hell is going on, Sylvie? I think you left out a major detail when you told Boden you're pregnant."

She sighed, "I know. I'm just... Just not ready for all of this."

"All of what?"

"This." She motioned at him, nervously wringing her hands.

"I don't understand..."

"I'm just not ready for the drama, Matt. Besides, you and I haven't exactly figured out our plan, I'd like to do that before the whole world knows."

"I told you, Sylvie. I'm here for whatever you need. I'm responsible for this too. But now when the truth does come out, I'm going to look like a serious asshole."

"You can blame it all on me-"

"Sylvie, you're not to blame. I'm the one who got you pregnant, I'm obligated to take just as much of the responsibility of this baby and all the drama that comes with it as you do."

She paused, replaying his words in her head. "Obligated?"

"What?"

"You said your obligated. Like this is just a duty..." she felt tears welling in her eyes. Damn these hormones.

"What? Why is that a bad thing?" He asked incredulously. Didn't she want him to take some responsibility?

Sylvie was speechless. How could he not see that she wanted to be more than just an obligation? She was hurt, thinking Casey only wanted to be close to her because he HAD to, not because he really wanted to. Meanwhile, he was thinking he was just trying to do the right thing by taking responsibility for his actions, like a man should. Why was she hiding him?

"Matt," she sniffed, "I think we have different ideas of what we want here," she said sadly.

"What makes you think that?"

"You clearly are only interested in me because your good morality makes you think it's some sort of _duty_-"

"I didn't say that!" He exclaimed loudly, and Sylvie saw through the glass in the door Stella had stood from her bunk, looking at the closed door with a concerned expression.

"Sylvie, whatever you need from me, I'll do it," he said quietly, "I'm going to love this baby-"

"What about me?"

He raised his eyebrows in question. "What about you?"

"Do you love _me_?"

He paused for too long, and she whirled away from him, pulling the door open, not wanting him to see the tears crashing down her cheeks. He tried to stop her, but she was running, pushing past Stella and out of the room.

Stella's gaze was fixed on the last spot Sylvie had been for a second before she turned to Casey, who stood open mouthed in the door of his office. Kidd stormed to the door, pushing him inside she slammed it shut, whipping around to face him with a scowl on her face.

"What the hell did you say?!" She hissed, smacking Casey's arm.

"Ow! I don't know! I was trying to say the right thing and she freaked out thinking I was only interested in being with her because she's pregnant," he said, rubbing his sore arm.

"Did you say something that implied you felt that way?!"

"All I said was that as the father of her baby I was obligated-"

"Obligated?!"

"What is everyone's issue with that word!" He groaned, slumping down into his desk chair.

"Dude, it makes it sound like you're being forced, like you're only supporting her because you have to," Stella explained.

"But that's not what I meant."

"Yeah, well she doesn't know that."

Casey sighed. Why were women always so confusing? Maybe he just lacked understanding. "I'll talk to her," he promised Stella, and turned back to his paperwork, trying to focus, but struggling. He was surprised when Sylvie asked if he loved her, that's why he hesitated. Surprised because after only a few months, the first answer to come to mind when she'd asked if he loved her was 'yes.' He had certainly had his share of complicated relationships, and so had Sylvie. Maybe they could make it work together, even though they didn't seem to be able to make it work with anyone else. But now they had a baby to think of. They had to make it work. They were his family. And that was the one thing Casey had been dreaming of his whole life, to have a family of his own. A whole family.

Casey sighed, double checking his paperwork and correcting some mistakes. He glanced at the clock, seeing it was time to go. He headed for the locker room and ran into Cruz.

"Hey, have you seen Sylvie? I'm running a bit behind, she might have to wait for me."

Joe frowned at him, "she left with Foster 10 minutes ago. Something about going to a club?"

As he watched Joe's retreating back, Casey felt anger building inside him. Was she just going to ignore him? Forever? After changing into his civilian clothes, he slammed his locker door, heading to his truck alone.

Sylvie pulled the hem of her dress down over her thighs for the umpteenth time. Her borrowed outfit was made for someone with much bolder outfit choices. Someone like Emily Foster. Sylvie felt like way to much of her body was exposed. Sitting at the bar with Foster at her right, she felt someone fill the void on her left. Turning, she saw a tall dark-haired man grinning at her.

"Hey, I'm Todd. Can I buy you a drink?"

"Um... no," Sylvie said curtly.

"Oh," the man's face took on a shocked expression, "I'm sorry, I was just trying to be friendly." He turned to go with a disappointed expression.

"Wait, wait," Sylvie called, touching his arm gently, "it's not your fault, it's me. I'm sorry, I just can't drink."

Intrigued, he raised an eyebrow questioningly at her.

She continued, "I can't drink because I'm pregnant, so there's that. I'm pretty sure that's gonna change you wanting to buy me a drink but there it is."

His eyes got wide, looking around for a way out of this conversation, but Sylvie continued.

""I just... how did I end up like this, ya know? Am I crazy? I'm crazy. I'm pushing away the guy I like because I'm afraid of what? Being happy? You seem like a nice guy, do you think I'm crazy? Should I be worried about Casey's intentions?"

Todd was opened mouthed staring at Sylvie like she had three heads. Oops. She'd been rambling. She turned to Foster, who was shaking her head, a smirk on her face. Todd took the moment while her back was turned to make a run for it.

"Think I was too forward?" Sylvie asked Emily with a crooked grin.

Emily laughed, waving at the bartender. "Martini for me, water for my friend."

Sylvie finally got home after a surprisingly fun evening. She didn't know she could have so much fun on an alcohol-free evening at a club. Opening the door, she kicked off her shoes in the quiet space, heading for her bedroom.

"You were out late."


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Happy Chicago Wednesday! Read and Review please! Love seeing your thoughts!

Sylvie shrieked when she heard the voice from the darkness of the living room.

"Holy hell, Casey. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

He stood from his spot in the chair in the corner, a frown on his face as he approached her.

"You're avoiding me." It was a statement, not a question.

She blushed, turning away from him. "Look could we not do this right now?" She asked, walking towards her bedroom. "I'm really tired from today."

He followed her. "When do you want to do this, Sylvie? You've been avoiding me all day, to the extent that you didn't even bother to tell me you weren't coming home."

She sighed, turning towards him. "Look, Matt. I just... I can't do this right now. I have so much more to worry about..."

"Then let me worry about it with you," he pleaded. "Sylvie, I want to be a part of your life, please let me."

Frowning, she closed her eyes briefly, exhaustion weighing heavy on her. "I'm just so tired of trying to have everything figured out," she began. "Matt, when you married Gabby, did you ever think it'd turn out like it did?"

"What? Of course not."

"Exactly. I thought the same thing when I was engaged... TWICE. You never expect a good relationship to go sour, but it happens all the time. I don't want that to happen with us."

"But this is different, we're having a baby-"

"Which makes it more important that we stay on good terms. And I think the best way for that to happen right now is to stay friends."

He stared at her, astonished. "How can you not even want to _try_?"

"I need all the support I can get through this pregnancy," she sniffed, tears filling her eyes, "I can't be worrying about our relationship, or whether or not you're going to be there when I need you."

He rubbed his hand across his forehead, "What do I have to do to make you see I'll always be there for you? I'll do anything," he begged.

"Just be my friend right now," she told him, turning to go to her room. He watched her walk away, confused and hurt. What was she so afraid of? Didn't she know him well enough to know he'd never hurt her? Or their baby? For the first time in many weeks, he slept in his bed alone, feeling like he'd lost a major part of himself.

The next morning she woke up, dressing in her work out gear, she headed out to the kitchen where Matt sat at the counter as usual.

"Morning," he said softly.

"Hey," she said politely, "I'm going to a new prenatal yoga class, don't want to be late. I'll get breakfast on the way," she said, hurrying out the door with a quick, "see ya."

He stared at the closed door. Was this what it was going to be like? Just catching glimpses of each other?

Staring sadly into his coffee mug, he wondered what he could do to prove himself to Sylvie. To prove his commitment to this relationship. If she wasn't pregnant, where would they be? Probably still a happy couple. But now her mind was full of doubt and uncertainty, and her solution to try and not get hurt was to push him away.

Standing up from the counter, he collected his papers, heading out to a job. Let his brain be consumed with measuring and cutting and framing for the day. Anything else but Sylvie. And yet, that's what stuck with him all day.

Sylvie avoided him like the plague in their apartment the next few days, always going out or going to her room when she was home. If she wanted to be friends, he certainly treated friends better than this. Their next day on shift, he caught her before she scurried out the door.

"Sylvie, I know you said you want me to be your friend, but you're not treating me like it."

Her shoulders sank, she turned to face him with a pained expression. "I just don't want to make this worse for you..."

He gently touched her shoulder and she stiffened, so he dropped his hand. Not that long ago she'd had an entirely different reaction to his touch. "I still want to be a part of your life. And I can respect friendship boundaries for as long as you see necessary," he said, adding the last part to get the point across that he did not want to be just friends long term.

She nodded slowly, turning for the door. He followed her saying, "I can still give you a ride, right?"

"I guess so."

She climbed in his truck, staring silently out the window for most of the trip. Finally he broke the silence.

"Did you hear Stella tore out a whole wall in their apartment yesterday?"

Sylvie turned, intrigued. "What? Why?"

"Kelly called me, freaking out. Apparently while he was gone for the day she took a sledge hammer to a wall to let more natural light in and make their room bigger. Guess she didn't think to clear it with him... or their landlord. Anyway, he wants me to fix it."

Sylvie chuckled, "oh boy, to be a fly on the wall of that conversation."

He smiled his handsome, charming smile at her and she sucked in a quick breath. Oh boy. How was she going to stay level headed? Casey continued talking about different projects he'd done to fix do it yourself mistakes, making her laugh the rest of the way to the firehouse. Maybe it wouldn't be that hard.

They went to their lockers to change, then headed for the briefing room. Everyone was talking, but when Sylvie walked in, they stopped, turning to stare at her.

Casey's brow furrowed, something was up. Looking around, he saw Stella moving towards them.

"Cat's our of the bag, Brett," she said, a look of sympathy on her face

"Yeah... my bad," Hermann said loudly, looking guilty.

"What?" What was happening, Sylvie was confused.

Severide piped in, "Hermann told Cindy who told Trudy who told Mouch and well now everyone knows."

"Knows about what?" Casey said slowly. How much in the know were they talking about?

"About Sylvie's bun in the oven," Foster said kindly, wrapping an arm around Brett. "We were all just discussing how Firehouse 51 will be here for anything you need." All around there were nods and murmurs in agreement.

"Thanks guys," she squeaked quietly as Chief Boden entered.

"Well, now that we all are up to speed on everybody else's business, let's try and keep this to our group for a bit to respect Sylvie's privacy, that means tell no one, and I mean no one," he looked pointedly at Hermann, who sunk lower in his seat.

After their meeting, Sylvie headed to check the Ambo with Foster. Casey was in the break room helping cook breakfast when he overheard Cruz talking to Hermann and Mouch.

"... I'm just saying, whoever this guy is, he's garbage. How could you leave a girl like Sylvie? She's literally the nicest person I've ever met. If I ever find this guy..."

"Maybe you don't know the whole story," Casey chimed in. His blood was boiling.

"Oh, c'mon, Casey. A girl like _Sylvie_? No way this guy is a good guy. Or he doesn't know about it. Either way, he obviously doesn't care about her."

Casey walked out of the room, not wanting them to see how angry he was. He did care. More than she wanted him too. This situation was spiraling out of control. He went into his office, sitting with his head between his hands. He heard a light knock on the door, and looked up to see Severide.

"Hey man. You okay?"

Casey sighed, "this isn't fair."

"I'm with you. But you gotta be patient. You guys belong together, she'll see it eventually."

"I hope so," Casey said.

But what if she didn't?

The weeks went by, Casey often found himself squinting at Sylvie's abdomen, trying to see if he could tell the difference. She still didn't look any more pregnant to him than she had when he found out about it. But Sylvie was noticing her pants were getting harder and harder to button, and her stomach was starting to grow. Not to the point that it was noticeable to anyone else, but enough to her. Plus, she knew it was on everyone's mind, especially Casey. She felt his gaze on her often, but she couldn't bear to look back because of the sadness she knew she'd see in his eyes. At home they spoke briefly, he asked questions about the baby or her day. But never about their relationship. He was trying to give her the space she wanted, but still let her know he wasn't going anywhere.

One evening in early fall, Firehouse 51 was called to a vehicle accident. An suv had run a red light, slamming into a tractor trailer that veered into the other lane, causing damage to multiple cars and injuring pedestrians. The suv was upside down in the intersection, leaking a fair amount of fluid. Flames flickered gently from the engine.

"Hermann, get that fire out and make sure the fluid doesn't light," Casey ordered, headed towards a parked car with two young women trapped inside. He directed Severide and Cruz to free the trapped women, while he assessed the tractor trailer.

Sylvie waited by the ambulance, parked closest to the suv. Curiously, she approached the vehicle, looking into the passenger compartment.

"Where's the driver?" She called out to Hermann by the engine.

"Must've ran!" He shouted, as he worked at putting something on the fluid to help soak it up.

Looking closer into the cab, she saw a white powder around the passenger seat. Leaning in closer, she was jolted by Casey's firm hand on her shoulder, pulling her back.

"Don't touch it!" He said angrily. "Your suppose to stay with the ambulance."

She frowned at him, shrugging off his touch. "What is that? Cocaine?"

He sighed, "looks like it. You didn't touch it, did you?!"

"No, Casey! I'm not an idiot!" She huffed, walking away from him. He called it in to the police, who sent out a unit.

As they were wrapping up the scene clean up, Casey saw an suv with blue lights pull up, and Officer Adam Ruzek and Detective Hailey Upton got out. Thank goodness it wasn't Voight.

Casey met them and took them through what happened, along with the mysterious substance in the suv.

Hailey nodded, "Thanks, Casey, we'll take it from here." She headed to the car to collect the evidence.

"We're tracking a ring that's bringing drugs into Chicago across the state line," Adam explained. "This might be a good lead. Hailey was pulling at the dash of the flipped suv, which revealed more packs of drugs.

As Adam turned to walk away, Casey stopped him. "Hey, Adam, I'm really sorry about your baby." He said quietly. Ruzek's friend and coworker, Kim, has been pregnant with his baby, but had miscarried during a brutal attack a few months earlier.

Adam nodded. "Thanks, man."

"How's Kim?"

Adam shrugged. "Still putting on a brave face. But I see how red her eyes are all the time," he said honestly. He straightened up, a half smile on his face, "but I heard 51's got baby news. Joe and Sylvie both."

Casey nodded. "Yeah."

"Man, that's rough for Brett. Raising a kid alone. Good thing she's got you guys to back her," Adam stated.

Casey paused for a moment before admitting, "it's mine."

Adam stopped writing in his notebook, looking up. "What? What's yours?"

"Brett's baby... our baby."

Adam hid his shock well. "Oh. The rumor mill left out that detail."

"Well, no one knows. She doesn't want them to know." Casey looked up at Adam. Here was one person who might understand. "How do I support what she wants if it's not what I want?"

"Oh, man. I wish I had that figured out," Adam scoffed. "I'm still trying to figure out what Kim wants from me. I just want her to be happy. And right now she's not happy."

Casey glanced over to where Sylvie and Emily had returned to take the last few minor patients to Med. Her brow was creased in concern, her hands aiding to the injured.

Matt sighed. "I'd appreciate if you kept this information to yourself. I guess I have to do what she wants."

Adam clapped him on the back, "Copy. Hang in there, man."

Casey watched him walk away. If Adam still hasn't found closure, would he?


	22. Chapter 22

Sylvie slowly opened her eyes, running her hand absentmindedly over the bump on her abdomen. Today was her last day on shift at 51. Next week she would be twenty weeks pregnant and headed uptown to HQ to be a desk clerk. She sighed, climbing out of bed she dressed for the day and headed out to the kitchen.

Casey was in his usual spot, smiling warmly when he saw her. "Hey," he said softly. "How you feeling?"

She shrugged, "it's bittersweet. I'm going to miss 51, but I keep reminding myself it's temporary. Plus, I'm excited for this," she said running her hand over her bump, being more honest with him then she had been in weeks.

He stared deep in her eyes, responding, "me too," and the emotion in his face was so raw, she had to look away.

Pouring her decaf coffee, she took a sip and felt the babe in her abdomen flip. She jumped a little, with a gasp. She'd been feeling kicks for a few weeks, but they were getting stronger.

Casey stood at her exclamation, looking alarmed.

"It's just the baby kicking," she said. "I haven't gotten used to it yet."

"Oh," he said quietly. "Can I... Can I feel it?"

"Um. I guess," she said awkwardly, "it doesn't happen all the time... you might not be able to feel it."

He placed his hand gently on her abdomen, and she moved it closer to the side where she'd felt the last kick. They waited, standing huddled close together, his strong hand at her side. He was leaned slightly into her, watching the spot where his hand was. Her eyes were level with his lips, and she found herself staring at them, trying to remember what he tasted like. He glanced up, meeting her gaze, his face inches from hers as she breathed in his familiar scent. Their eyes locked and he leaned closer. She felt the baby kick, and his eyes got wide.

"Was that it?" He asked breathlessly, and all she could do was nod. His face broke out into a wide grin and he put his forehead against hers, whispering, "wow."

They stood that way for a moment, until he took her hand, "Listen, Sylvie-"

"We should go," she interrupted him. "Don't want to be late."

She put distance between them, moving towards the door to leave.

He ran his hand through his hair, letting out a frustrated sigh, he followed her out the door.

Arriving at 51, the bay doors were open, but the area was void of any of their fellow shift mates.

"That's odd," said Sylvie, "Squad usually takes over that table."

Casey shrugged, "Chief must have everyone in the briefing room for something important."

They went to their lockers, changing into their uniforms. Sylvie glanced over at him at his locker, thinking back to many months ago when they'd had their in here. She wished she could go back to when things were simpler. When her feelings had been just a lovesick crush and not something so complicated. He shut his locker with a bang, snapping her back to reality, they hurried to the briefing room.

Opening the door, Sylvie heard a chorus of, "SURPRISE!" and saw her favorite people, decked out in paper party hats, holding a sign that said, 'we'll miss you, Sylvie.' Her eyes started to leak tears of joy as she was hugged and congratulated by her 51 family. A small table had gifts on it, and Stella hugged her saying, "Welcome to your surprise baby shower!" Sylvie noticed the small, sad smile Stella threw in Casey's direction. Turning to look at him, his jaw was clenched, his face stone, and she knew it was killing him that he couldn't be a part of this moment. Regret washed over her, why had she denied him these moments? And he had just accepted what she wanted, because he wanted her to be happy. Her brow furrowed and she swallowed hard, thinking what a huge mistake she had made. He was right, the longer they waited, the more of a scandal it was going to be. Why hadn't she just told the truth to begin with? But now here they were, shrouded in secrets, twisting a web she was unsure how to get out of gracefully.

She continued to move through the crowd, Stella steering her towards the gift pile. Someone handed her a piece of white cake with chocolate icing, her favorite. Joe came up, grinning joyfully, squeezing her hand he said, "You're going to be a great mom, Sylvie."

She lit up, smiling back at him she responded, "You're going to be a great dad... and soon!"

The crew laughed as Joes face paled, and he shrugged nervously.

"Now before we get into this celebration, I do have some things to discuss," Chief Boden remarked, quickly running through his list of official discussions as everyone ate their cake. When he was done, he motioned for Sylvie to start opening presents. She opened a pack of diapers and fire truck toy from Tony, a Dalmatian stuffed animal and outfits from Ritter (and Tuesday) and bottles and a cute diaper backpack from Foster.

Glancing to the back of the room, she saw Casey leaning against the wall by the door, a somber expression on his face. Guilt flooded her. He should be a part of this. She cleared her throat, trying to come up with words to explain to everyone.

"Open the big one!" Severide exclaimed from his seat.

She turned, noticing a large, awkwardly wrapped square present. She tore at the paper, revealing a crib. Not just any crib, it was beautiful. Dark mahogany wood and hand carved designs along the rail. Each bar had been perfectly rounded and polished. A mattress fit snugly inside, already covered with a sheet, a soft, stuffed bear in the corner. It was all ready for a new baby.

Looking out at the crowd, she glanced around, "who is this from?!" She looked at Severide, who jerked his head towards the door.

"I built it." Casey said gently, from the back of the room.

Sylvie's heart broke. What had she done? Standing, she knew it was time to admit the baby's paternity. But before she could, the bells went off. House fire.

Running to the ambulance, she climbed in with Foster and the raced down the road.

"Girl, that crib? Wow."

Sylvie groaned. "I'm such a jerk. I can't believe I didn't let him be a part of this. He loves this baby so much, how could I deny him his right to be a father, even before the baby is born?"

"He's not just doing it for the baby, hun."

Sylvie turned to her, confused. "What?"

"He loves _you_ Sylvie. You've been letting all the drama cloud you're judgement. He built that crib for his _family_."

Sylvie was silent the rest of the ride, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, in Truck 51, Mouch and Gallo were gossiping in the back seat.

"Sylvie is a rockstar, I mean, she's doing this whole kid thing on her own," Blake was saying.

"Joe was telling me about birthing classes... you have to go to a class nowadays to give birth," Mouch snorted. "Man, I would not want to do that alone like Sylvie."

Stella glanced over from the driver's seat to Casey's clenched fist. Meeting his gaze she gave him a sympathetic half smile as the pulled up to the raging inferno.

Casey jumped out, throwing himself into the scene. There was still a suspected victim inside in a second floor apartment, so they got the ladder up to a window. Once the back door was vented, Casey went in the window followed by Gallo, and they began a search. They found an old woman, still in bed, barely a pulse, and carried her back to the window and down the ladder on a backboard to the ambulance. Sylvie smiled at Casey when he stepped near her, but he just turned and headed back to the blaze. Working on the woman, they just barely managed to get a breathing tube in and headed off to Med.

Returning to the firehouse later, the pulled the ambulance into its spot. The woman was touch and go, it was too soon to know her fate. Walking to the bunk room towards Casey's office, his door was open and she saw him rubbing at a burn on his wrist. Stepping up to the door, she said softly, "let me look at that for you."

"I'm fine," he said curtly, brushing past her and headed for the break room. She sighed, going to her bunk she laid down, rubbing her temples. She was mentally and emotionally exhausted, and she closed her eyes, hoping for some peace.

Casey walked into the break room, plating himself some breakfast.

"I'm just saying," Mouch was talking, holding the attention of most of the room, "we figure out who this guy is and make him support her. Especially financially. Hermann and I were talking about the cost of a baby, and they aren't cheap."

"Maybe we could ask some one at Med," Ritter suggested.

"No, HIPAA violation," Joe informed them.

"Well, Foster, ask Sylvie. She'll probably tell you," Mouch suggested.

"Um," she glanced at Matt. "You guys ever thought she didn't tell us because she wants to keep her privacy?" She suggested.

Mouch scoffed. "No way, we're family. She's just embarrassed."

"Whoever this scum is, we're gonna find him and make him take responsibility," Hermann stated, as the other men in the room nodded. "It's not right for a man to abandon a woman like that."

Casey set his plate down hard with a bang, causing the attention to turn to him.

"It's me, alright? I'm the scum."


	23. Chapter 23

Sylvie was startled awake from her nap by Stella.

"Girl, you better come to the break room, quick."

Confused, Sylvie got up, hurrying after her. As they entered the room, she saw everyone was crowded around Casey, talking over each other. He had their attention for some reason, and she heard Hermann ask Casey incredulously, "how could you not tell us it was your baby?"

Oh shit.

Sylvie elbowed her way through the circle around Casey, when they turned and saw it was her the path cleared, and she stepped up next to him. His face was red and angry and he said to her roughly, "I'm sorry, I just couldn't handle them bashing me like they think I don't care about this baby."

She turned, all eyes glued to her. Well, this wasn't exactly the graceful way she'd hoped everyone would find out, but it was her own fault. So she took the blame.

"Guys, it's my fault. I'm the one who didn't want to tell anyone," she stated. "I just was afraid of how you guys would react."

"And you just went along with it?" Mouch said angrily to Casey, who threw up his hands in frustration.

"I was trying to respect what Sylvie wanted," he said roughly.

"Well you weren't respecting her when you got her pregnant!" Hermann said. "Are you guys together now or..." Looking at their sheepish faces he shook his head muttering, "I don't understand you kids today." Walking up to Casey, Hermann pokes him in the chest saying, "in my day, if you got a girl pregnant you married her," he pointed out. Brushing off the spot where he touched Casey, he added a "sorry, Captain."

"Guys," Sylvie said loudly above the whispering, "this is on me, not Casey. I didn't even tell him until he accidentally found the ultrasound pictures. I just wasn't sure what to do or how anyone would react."

"We're like family, Brett, you can trust us," Cruz said, and Sylvie saw the hurt in his eyes. Chloe had confided in Sylvie, why couldn't she do the same?

"I'm sorry, everyone, it just seemed easier." Looking around at their hurt expressions, she continued, "I see now that's not the case. I'm sorry I wasn't more honest."

They nodded, accepting her apology for now, but she could see in their faces they had plenty more questions. She heard someone clear their throat behind her and turned to see Boden in the doorway. "Casey, Brett. My office. Now."

He turned and they followed, he shut the door once they were all inside.

"You know," he began, "I should've been privy to this information."

"I'm sorry Chief, but -" Casey began, but Boden held up his hand.

"I don't want to hear your excuses. Now this is going to be an HR nightmare. Not only will they not want you to work together again, it brings into question Casey's authority. I need to know all the details. Was this a one time thing? You two living in close quarters and just had a moment of weakness? Or are you in a relationship?"

Sylvie glanced at Casey, who's head was down. She spoke up, "we were in a relationship... now we're... taking a break." His head snapped up when he heard her say that. A break meant there was potential to get back together.

"Huh. And this break was the result of you being pregnant?"

Sylvie nodded, "it was my fault. Casey shouldn't be punished for this, Chief. I was the one who made the call to not tell you, I didn't want this to be a big deal."

"Well it is a big deal. A very big deal. Best case scenario, one of you gets transferred to another firehouse."

Casey's eyes got wide. "What? Why? Gabby didn't have to transfer when her and I were married?"

"Yes, but that situation called into question some of CFD's policies. What happens if you both get injured in the same call? Or worse? Plus, with Gabby there weren't secrets. HR is going to wonder why you were trying to hide this. Maybe think Sylvie's PIC status wasn't fully appointed based on merit."

"Chief that was years ago-"

He held up his hand. "It doesn't matter. They could call your whole careers into question. There's going to be a doubt in everyone's mind about why you didn't come forward with this earlier. You should've told me. I'll do my best to help the situation, but I can't make any promises."

He dismissed them and the left, "heck of a last day at 51, huh?" She said to him as they walked down the hallway.

"What did you expect, Sylvie? To keep me your secret forever?" He said angrily. He turned, walking away from her.

She sighed. Was anyone not mad at her?

"There you are, hun. You never finished opening your presents," Stella looped her arm through Sylvie's, and Emily took her hand and they led her back to the briefing room.

Sitting down next to the table of gifts, she said to her friends, "I really screwed this up."

The other woman looked at her sympathetically. "You can fix it, hun," Stella said.

"How?"

"I think you know, Brett," Foster said quietly.

Sylvie was silent, her hand resting on her growing belly. Finally she whispered, "what if he doesn't forgive me?"

Stella groaned. "Stop with the what if's, Brett! Look at this crib! He loves you! Any fool could see that!"

Sylvie was silent. She knew in her heart she still had deep feelings for Casey. But the idea of finally having the family she'd always wanted terrified her. Especially with the way it came about. Her and Casey has come together so fast, what if it fell apart just as rapidly? She couldn't stand to lose someone else in her life.

A call came in and they rushed to the scene. She watched Casey shouting orders, directing the team like the good Captain he was. He led the crew into the burning building, carrying out a little boy to Sylvie.

"Anyone else inside, son?" Casey asked the little boy.

"Emmie! We were playing hide and seek!" The little boy coughed, and Casey spun on his heel, racing back into the building and calling into his radio to inform the others.

Son. Casey has called him son. Like she was possibly carrying. Some day they could have a little boy just like this, she thought, as she put an oxygen mask on the boy. His breathing sounds were good, but he kept coughing.

Brett heard yelling on the radio, then saw Gallo come out carrying a little girl, then Severide helping a limping Casey. Her heart lept in her chest and she wanted to rush to him, but the little girl was more important. She was unconscious, and they raced her to Med.

Returning to the firehouse at the end of shift, she was exhausted. Stella approached her as she hopped out of the ambulance.

"Hey, you're still here? Shift was over thirty minutes ago?"

Stella smiled softly, "Casey wanted to leave so I said I'd drive you. Something about he has to finish a job this morning. He wanted to get your gifts home too in his truck before it rains."

"Oh." Sylvie said, not hiding her disappointment. She'd been working herself up to talk to him the whole ride back to 51. She didn't want to lose her nerve. " Alright, let's go. I'll shower at home."

Sylvie unlocked the apartment door, seeing her stack of gifts neatly piled in the corner of the living room. She went to the bathroom, filling the tub with water she sank into it, closing her eyes. When the water got cold, she ran the tap again, grabbing the book she kept in her drawer. Soaking and reading, she was so peaceful, getting lost in the characters in her book and forgetting her own story for now.

Finally, she climbed out of the tub, pulling on a sports bra and yoga pants. Looking at herself in the mirror, her belly was definitely noticeable. Still relatively small, but clearly pregnant. "Soon I'm going to be a whale," she moaned, walking out to the living room.

Casey was just opening the door when he heard Sylvie's voice. He turned, seeing her walk out of the hallway, she was wearing just a sports bra, and his eyes took in her pregnant belly. Damn. Her blonde hair was down, slightly damp, her feet bare with chipped pink polish on the toenails. She was sexy as hell and it tortured him.

"Oh! Hey." She said, surprised. "I thought you'd be gone most of the day."

"It's lunch time," he said, holding up a take out bag. "I got subs from Bruno's if you're interested."

She smiled brightly at him, "sure!"

She walked over, sitting next to him at the island, her arm lightly brushed his. He was confused. They hadn't eaten together in weeks. She always disappeared to her room. Her leg was shaking nervously, something had to be up.

"You okay, Brett?" He asked slowly.

She let out a big sigh. "I don't know, Matt. I just... I don't know what I want. But I know I don't want whatever it is we're doing now."

He straightened, turning his whole body towards her. "Hey, you're the one who wanted this. I've made every effort to still try to be friends, I'm sorry that-"

She held up her hands to silence him. "I know. I made a huge mistake. I know I shouldn't have tried to hide this. I see that now and I'm sorry. I don't want to stop you from being apart of this baby's life. I want you to come to appointments and get to celebrate with me at parties and get excited over it with your friends."

Matt smiled, "guys don't really 'get excited' we just drink a beer and slap each other's backs."

She laughed, "my point is, I was wrong. I want to figure out how to make this work for the baby."

"What about us? You and me? What about our relationship?"

"I... I want to figure out how to make that work to," she whispered.

He pulled her into his arms, something he'd been longing to do for weeks. She tucked her head against his chest, and he rested his chin on her blonde hair.

"Sylvie, you have no idea how much I want to make you and me work. I know I'm not the best at expressing myself, but I do love you. Not just because you're pregnant. I've been falling in love with you for months. You being pregnant is just icing on the cake. I couldn't be more excited to have a family with you."

Happy tears started to roll down her face. "I want that to... but I'm still scared Matt. I want to start over... take things slow."

He nodded, "Alright, then Miss Brett, would you like to go on a date tonight?"

She smiled widely at him. "Absolutely, Mister Casey."


End file.
